


Broken Mirror

by AstralPrince



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, BAMF Barbara Lake, Bow Of Moonlight (Trollhunters), Bular and Draal are best big bros to Jim, Canon-Typical Violence, Clans, Daylight is evil, Emotional Roller Coaster, Found Family, Gen, Ghost Mentor, Gumm-Gumm Magic, Gumm-Gumm!Jim, Gumm-Gumms (Tales of Arcadia), Human!Jim, I don't like Merlin much, Jim-centric, Magical Tattoos, Minor Barbara Lake/Walter Strickland | Stricklander, Minor Draal/Nomura (Trollhunters), Moonlight, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PLOT TWISTS EVERYWHERE, Plot Twists, Shattered Glass AU, Strickler needs a vacation, Surrogate family, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Time Travel, Troll Culture, What Have I Done, What-If, Wizards Spoilers (Tales of Arcadia), expect the unexpected, this AU is crazy, troll society
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:55:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 52,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25775491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstralPrince/pseuds/AstralPrince
Summary: You know these classic role swaps? Well, this isn't one. Jim is trapped inside a broken mirror of the world he knows, and he needs to find out what changed and what stayed the same to stay alive. Enemies are suddenly friendly, and friends have changed so much that they are unrecognizable. Just when he thought that he could get a break he's caught up in yet another millennia old war. One he can only win if he unravels the mysteries of this bizarre mirrorverse.
Relationships: Barbara Lake/Walter Strickler | Stricklander, Bular & Gunmar & Jim Lake Jr. (Tales of Arcadia), Bular & Jim Lake Jr. (Tales of Arcadia), Draal/Nomura (Tales of Arcadia)
Comments: 212
Kudos: 269





	1. Thrown Under The Bridge

**Author's Note:**

> I know I should finish my other works, but this one was a very persistent idea that refused to let me go. It also doesn't help that I've found so many cool stories about Bular recently. 
> 
> To any passing by Transformers fan the title "Broken mirror / Shattered glass" should be familiar. Yep! It's one of those stories!
> 
> Any and all romantic relationships will only be minor and used to world/character-built. I want to focus on family fluff and adventures, not the kissy stuff. When it comes to romance, Draal is my spirit animal lol  
> ( Which is why I took out the ship tags. I think it's only fair you get what's advertised. )

_"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!"_

Two voices echoed across the great hall of new Trollmarket. Formed from pure heartstone, it was the center of the young city and the current dwelling of Blinkous and his favorite student, the legendary trollhunter Jim Lake. As part usual the half troll was arguing with the wizard Merlin about the ways said magic user was treating other people. Most importantly, Jim's beloved girlfriend Claire. However, not only was the wizard lacking serious people skills he was also reckless in his experiments. He fully trusted his intuition, refusing to acknowledge that he wasn't perfect. In fact, according to studies and statistics recorded by Blinky, Merlin was very prone to create anything ranging from accidents to disasters. Not that he would ever admit this.

It was a very pleasant Sunday evening, early for the trolls and late for the human. The cave system of new Trollmarket was littered with reddish golden glowing crystal that shone like the sunset. On a visit, the guardian of Arcadia Toby dubbed these "the Bahama stones" for their light and warmth. Merlin had been experimenting with them in order to create a folder version to simulate a day night cycle underground. His reason why was that he could not sleep properly and he cared little for his next door neighbors. Sadly, the first few attempts were too perfect, leaving many trolls shivering and cold for the entire day. The trollhunter jumped up to help warm as many as he could before he stormed off to confront Merlin about the issue, just to be brushed off by the old man. 

"This can't go on. Seriously! Do you even think of other people before you do something?" He accused the magic wielder.

In response he got a annoyed glare, "Of course I do! You trolls are tough enough to let me sleep for a bit. On one hand you knock each other out for fun, and on another you can not even handle a slight chill? Bah!" 

"You call this a slight chill?!" Jim shouted, pointing at the shivering heap of misery that was the affected trolls. "Look at them! They're freezing." 

"They have blankets. It's no big deal, boy." 

This was the drop that spilled the emotional strom inside of the young hunter. He finally gave up trying to bring out whatever bit of compassion was left inside Merlin's heart and went for an offensive approach instead.

"You. Out."

"What?"

"You heard me, Merlin." Hissed Jim with clenched teeth, "I'm throwing you out. You are a threat to my people and as the trollhunter I banish you from new Trollmarket. Now, out with you." 

After a few seconds of shocked silence the wizard glared. He tightened his hold on the staff of Avalon, which in turn glowed a bright emerald green in response. He stood up straighter, chin up and shoulders squared. Merlin wanted to intimidate Jim, as he had done before, but this time it did not work. Jim wasn't backing down like he did when they clashed back in the Lake's house a while ago, and it was annoying Merlin to no end. 

"This is the thanks I get for my help? You ungrateful child! If not for me you would all be dead!" 

"You are the reason we are in this situation!" Jim shot back.

"And pray tell me, how is that?" Scoffed Merlin. 

With an almost savage grin that dared to split his face Jim looked into the wizard's eyes. The once human blue orbs, now a stormy ocean full of bottled up anger and survivor's guilt. He didn't scream or shout, and neither did he cry. Jim's voice was even. One could say he was far too calm given the situation.

"You and Morgana... Instead of dealing with your mistakes you decide to fake an entire war to cover up your dirty deeds, and let us deal with the fallout. We are fighting for our lives, in your war, because you don't know how to say sorry. If not for you, then we wouldn't be in this mess and I wouldn't be mourning friends and family." 

For a moment it looked like he got through to the wizard's heart and finally made him see, but that immediately changed when Merlin pointed his staff towards Jim. He showed no hesitation or remorse when he spoke, just mild annoyance. 

"You are just like _her._ Fine. Let's see how well you do without my help, Trollhunter." 

And in a swirl of green magic, Jim Lake vanished from this string of existence. His soul fell far and deep, only to be caught by another who gently brought him to safety. Even though she was far beyond the point of saving herself, he was still able to return, and she would not condemn another to this fate. Her only regret was that she didn't know if she brought him back to the place he came from. 

* * *

It happened so fast. Too fast, in Jim's opinion. One moment he was shouting his heart out of his chest, and in the next he is in a bed, nursing the worst headache known to trollkind. The last time he felt like this was when Morgana shot him straight into the heart. Thankfully he could still feel all of his body parts where they belonged, even though the headache made his horns numb. Tiredly he rubbed his eyes and ruffled his hair only to stop when he didn't find the by now familiar antlers where they were supposed to be. 

He shrieked up into a sitting position while he inspected every part of himself. Five fingers per hand, peachy soft skin and a lithe frame that shook with every breath he took. He then looked around to find his childhood room. His laptop and phone were sitting where they were supposed to be, or not because he remembered to have brought both with him to new Jersey. The laptop especially looked strangely not-trashed. The last time Jim saw it the poor thing had been covered in troll saliva and was barely working anymore. This version however looked crispy and clean, almost as if it had never seen a troll before.

"What the...?" 

His voice was also back to its original state. It was as clear as it had been before he snorted the grave sand from Stricklander. 

Jim felt the hot fuzzy prickling of a panic attack creep up just before he fell back asleep. Lost to the world he would dream about everything and nothing without anything making sense. His mind wandered through good and bad memories only to be disturbed by his alarm clock. Sadly, he didn't get much rest during the night. Sleep was not just sleep, and even though Jim had spent hours snoozing away he didn't feel any bit refreshed. 

He usually set an alarm to get up early enough to comfortably cook something and get ready with enough time to take it easy. Jim also had a last minute alarm that woke him up just in time to no be late. Obviously he tended to snore through the first one only to rush around the house to make it out just in time, but after this crazy night he was up and awake after the first beep. His constant alertness probably contributed to that. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone else, however. 

A glance at the digital display revealed that it was a Monday, but the date made him pale to a ghostly white. Merlin had sent him back through time again. Specifically to the day when he first got the amulet. This day was the day, Kanjigar was fated to die, and he had a difficult decision to make now. He could ignore it once more and either let the world burn, or he could try his best to redo everything he did before. The latter sounded appealing, until a third option blew through Jim's mind. He could go out there and safe his predecessor. 

It wasn't a well though our plan, and Jim was sure he would be at a severe disadvantage without his armor and sword, but he had to try. Once more, he called for his sword only to be left disappointed. If not for himself then for Draal and Vendel, and all the others they lost. With a true hero's determination he grabbed his favorite kitchen knives and went to the canals to intervene. 

* * *

Arcadia's floodwater canals were by no means a tourist attraction. They were basic concrete tunnels full of stinky mold of questionable origin and all kinds of magical critters. If what Toby said was true then they even had aliens living down there. Usually these not-human citizens had a strict policy of not showing themselves to anyone who passed by, but this time two of them were making an exception. One was black as the night, with two heavy swords and eyes that looked like embers in a fire. The other was blue and clad in armor made of pure sunlight, with eyes that shone as golden as Earth's daylight star. 

Jim knew both as Kanjigar and Bular. One, his predecessor, father of his friend, and the other his enemy, son of his archenemy. Which is why he didn't hesitate to throw some of his smaller knives at them to split them apart. That had the unfortunate side effect of gaining him both trolls' attention. 

In all honesty, Jim did not even think of the possibility of Kanjigar attacking him. It was like Kanjigar was not even Kanjigar anymore, and by the cold look in his eyes he didn't seem to be all there anymore either. Unlike the legendary knight he got to meet in the void, this version did not stop to think about what he hit, instead he just swung Daylight around to destroy as much as he could. For a single short moment, Jim thought he saw pure raw fear in his expression. Then everything went black, and... fluffy?

Suddenly Jim found himself being held in a large obsidian hand, and it shoved hi quite gently into rough fur that might be more carpet than hair. He protested of course, but it seemed like Bular had other things to worry about. The dark troll ran as fast as his short legs could carry him through the forest, and into the park. Finally when they were far enough, and hidden away did he speak.

"That was a dangerous move, human. Kanjigar won't be able to get you now. You should be safe until sunrise." He huffed out of breath after that fight. Then Bular continued solemnly, "as careless as it was, I thank you. If not for you then I would not have seen another sunset."

The Gumm Gumm prince bowed as best as he could while he still held the human in his hands. Then Bular tried to smile encouragingly. Jim on the other hand felt his breath hitch for an entirely different reason. His entire world was standing upside down, and he didn't get much sleep so he did not resist when sweet oblivion called him again. Bular noticed that, and carefully put him on his back just seconds shy from when Jim finally lost consciousness for the third time they day.


	2. Unfamiliar Familiarities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we finally get to see some lore of my world. I'd like to add here that no trolls were harmed while making this.

⩟-⨈-⩟

Most humans wake up slowly. Jim was not most humans. Not anymore. He was still debating on whether or not he counted as one, as half of one or as something else entirely. He woke up with a migraine and something akin to a hairball in his mouth, which wasn't all that strange compared to how he usually started his days. Opening his eyes revealed a sea of ebony scruff that was as itchy as Nana Domzalski's knitted Christmas socks, but with more dirt, stink, fleas and less cat hairs. He let his hands run through it, and then promptly leaned to the left to spit the hairball out. 

"Can you please do that again?" Rumbled a voice from below. Jim didn't dare to call it a purr.

Curiously he scratched the same spot again where he had put his hand before, which earned him yet another content purr. With a mischievous grin he scratched with both hands and more effort. The purring turned into a rumble similar to a car engine, but then Jim remembered who he hitched a ride on. When it dawned on him that this was Bular, he became very still very suddenly. His first instinct was to summon Daylight, but again the sword did not respond. Neither did Eclipse. It brought up a terrible feeling of helplessness and desperation from within him that Jim hasn't felt since he faced Angor.

Thankfully Bular's voice ripped him out of these dark thoughts, "Ah, that was nice. Thank you, fleshy. Now, where did you get the wonderfully stupid idea to barge in on two fighting trolls?" 

Jim bristled at the not so nice nickname, even though a small portion in his mind was happy because he missed being a "fleshy" human. That was why he let it slide. It was also said with no malice, which was strange for Bular of all people. He was still gruff and very much the aggressive warrior that Jim knew him to be, but Bular seemed almost kind. The troll accepted his human passenger. However, they couldn't debate on which nicknames to call each other. Jim had much more important things to talk about. One of these was the fact that the whole universe was like a giant role reversal. 

"Why did he attack like that?" Jim asked, then elaborated, "isn't a trollhunter supposed to be a guardian of both worlds?" 

Bular sighed with the sorrow of a thousand years of experience. He got down on all fours and started to walk at a leisurely speed. With no saddle or something else to hold on, Jim clawed himself into Bular's fur in the exact same way a troll whelp would do, not that he was aware of this. He didn't know where they were going, but he didn't feel like he was in any imminent danger. Besides that, Bular turned out to be a good story teller. He didn't even fall asleep, unlike when Blinky taught him Trollish and troll history.

"Long before you were even a thought my people fought terrible wars. Troll clans from everywhere battled with each other for territory and power, not unlike what you humans did when you first came to the new world." 

Bular chuckled, "The Killahead bridge was supposed to be a symbol of unity for all of trollkind. Deya "The Deliverer" was a good trollhunter, and she almost succeeded in unifying the clans. Uh, the original plan was to fight. We wanted war, but she decided that we could get along. Deya fought the leaders of the clans with both her words and her sword, and eventually won. However, on the day of our union the wizard messed with her bridge and made it banish my people." 

"What did you do to deserve that?" Asked Jim, almost challenging the Gumm Gumm to justify himself.

"I am a Gumm Gumm, a bringer of horribly painful death and destruction. I'm a child of pain and fear, a vicious warrior. Although, that was not uncommon for a troll to do back then it was enough to get us banished. Your kind was afraid, Merlin was protecting his king... In hindsight, it was a mess. Everyone ate your kind in the past. Our pact with humanity isn't that old yet, but don't fear. I'm not going to eat you." 

"That's..." Started Jim, only to trail off uneasily. 

"That's not very reassuring. I know, and I don't hold it against you. Trollmarket's citizens won't hesitate to barbeque you, however. They were the ones following Kanjigar here and they insist that the old ways are the only ways. These trolls have been hiding in their hole through the entire war. Sometimes I doubt they even know that time has passed. Their current leader, an old goat named Vendel, despises your kind. Just saying." 

That sounded like it could possibly be Vendel, Jim had to admit. The Vendel he knew was often very annoyed and openly against any human related things, calling them feeble, or weak. It was hard to imagine him eating people, but it was also not impossible. The thought that still plagued Jim's mind was the big why. He didn't understand why any of this was happening. He needed to know what changed the world to turn the tides this much, but he doubted that Bular knew if he asked him. 

"Human?" 

But this was not the Bular that Jim came to hate. He couldn't doubt someone he barely knew. With a sigh he felt a feeling rise up from the bottom of his heart that let him hope. He went ahead and trusted this broken mirror image of his former enemy. If his original friends and allies were now out to get him, then the only logical thing to do was to team up with his enemies. The strangeness of it all made it a awkward, but that couldn't hold Jim down.

The human scratched the spot once more before he offered his name, "Jim. My name is Jim." 

"Jim then. I am Bular "The Vicious", son of Gunmar "The Black". Say, do you know what a changeling is or has your kind forgotten about them?" He asked carefully, keeping his voice even and low. 

"Uh, yes. I do know. You steal a baby and make it become a familiar. Then the changeling takes his or her place. They're shape shifters." 

It was the brutally short abridged version and both of them knew it. Neither cared however, for it got the point across. Bular nodded his approval for the answer before he stopped walking. Apparently they had reached their destination and the dark prince was now officially getting tired of carrying a human around. The hands that once in another life had almost ripped him in two were now gently holding him, then placing him on the ground. From below he looked a lot scarier, but also very tired. Jim's mind compared Bular to a sleep deprived poodle with a migraine.

The troll pointed towards the apartment building to their left. There was just enough vegetation left to shield them from curious eyes, and yet it was shrubby enough to let Jim look at the human buildings. Bular encouraged him to go, but Jim wasn't done with him so easily. His hero's streak shone through and gave him the courage he needed to ask what was on his mind.

"Who lives there?" 

Bular smiled openly proud of himself, "Stricklander. He is a reliable ally, and one of the nicer changelings." 

Jim felt the shock burn it's way through his body and into his face, turning him a lovely shade of sickly ashen grey. He couldn't face Strickler just yet. He needed time to get over the shock of suddenly being in the twilight zone first. Then he could deal with his mentor-traitor-grave sand dealer. Bular didn't know about this so he needed a better strategy to get out of there. 

"Jim? Human, what is going on? Please tell me I have not broken you already. Stricklander would never let me live that down." 

"I can't go there! I... I don't have my... homework! Yes, I still need to do my homework, and Strickler is my history teacher. Showing up without my homework is a very **very** bad idea." 

At the completely lost look on Bular's face, Jim couldn't help himself. He had to take this chance to cause some mischief. The way the dark troll pouted was so completely not like the evil warrior Jim had come to fear that it made him feel bolder. He would see this as a test of character. It was only Bular's mildly offended growl that made Jim stop, but at that point the damage had been done. The teenager couldn't find it it himself anymore to fear this version of Bular. 

"Jim, what is this _"homework"_ you speak of? I have heard that word before, but never bothered to ask." He finally asked, or rather grumbled out. 

In return Jim let a sinister smirk creep onto his face as he got ready to introduce the Gumm Gumm prince to the most annoying thing in a human teenager's life. 

"Homework... is a exercise that has you repeat the stuff you learned during the school day until you memorize it. You sit still in front of a book for hours, until you can write down the correct answers without looking them up. If we fail to do it in time we have to sit through detention, which is basically doing absolutely nothing for a few more hours. Oh and you get punished with more nothing if you move or speak." 

Jim tried to keep his voice as casual as he could, even though he knew what most trolls' opinion on homework was. Draal had once suggested that he could just eat it, but Jim quickly drove that idea out of his head. Apparently Bular was no exception to this, because for the first time there was genuine horror on the prince's face. His claws dug into the ground below as if he could rip it up and hide under the dirt. Then he shook his massive horns to snap out of it and grabbed Jim once more. 

"Where are we going? Bular?!" 

The troll answered through clenched fangs, "away from this madness. I'll make sure he will never again condemn you to suffer through this "homework" you told me about. Bwah!" 

And as he was clinging to the black scruffy stinky mane of his once enemy, Jim let out a relieved laugh. Shattered the world may be, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He found the spark of hope in hopeless when Bular announced that they were going to visit Nomura instead. Jim liked her ever since his trip into the darklands, so seeing a friendly face he knew was a relief. He knew she would not recognize him, or remember any of the things they have done together, and yet that was fine. Toby would say he could make new friends. Jim decided he would listen to his best friend and just roll with it for now.

Bular held him in his palm and stretched so that Jim could climb through the slim window, and into the small apartment building. Immediately Nomura rushed to his side to help him in, and only left him once he was sitting on her couch. She then moved to talk to Bular about something in changeling, which Jim didn't understand. Despite the fact that Changeling was derived from Trollish, the two languages were nothing alike anymore. He only knew bits and pieces of the common version thanks to Strickler, but the tiny scraps that he did catch didn't make much sense. 


	3. Jim's New Knife Aunt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another major player enters the game. I actually really like how this chapter turned out - and that's saying something because I rarely ever am satisfied with anything I do.

⩟-⨈-⩟

Life, as Jim figured, was crazy. Which was the reason why he treasured moments of peace that others might take for granted. Here on Nomura's black designer leather couch, he felt at home for the first time since he woke up in this universe. The apartment was as cozy as one would expect from Zelda Nomura. Her furniture was as artistic as it was functional, with a strong Japanese touch, and she kept things that she enjoyed everywhere. No doubt priceless vases and artefacts sat on shelves while pictures and posters of famous musicals adorned the hallway table and wall. Jim could see a picture of the human Nomura right beside the actor who played Peer Gynt. She looked more happy in that picture, than he had ever seen her be. That made him wonder why. 

"It is my favorite of them all." She said from behind him, then continued, "from all the things you humans have created, music is the best. It's a gift that I treasure." 

"Oh, sorry. I didn't meant to space out." 

Nomura taunted him with a sharp laugh. In her left hand was a glass of water, and in the other a sandwich. Both were things Jim appreciated a whole lot more than he should have, but Nomura didn't seem to mind. A suspicious voice inside Jim's head told him that she was probably used to having surprise guests by now. When she wasn't trying to murder said guests she made a fairly decent host. Although, he wasn't going to try her tea any time soon.

She sat down in the armchair across from the couch and made herself comfortable. She wasn't too far away, but still close enough to keep an eye on Jim.. While the changeling assassin searched for her phone Jim unconsciously started to whistle the tune of "in the hall of the mountain king". It made Nomura smile, then join him. 

"Cute. Now what's your name, little Gynt?" She asked warmly.

Jim pretended to think about it for a bit to cover the shudder that ran down his spine. A nice Nomura was unsettling. He knew for a fact that Bular had told her already. His Changeling speaking skill was broken, not utter garbage like his Spanish. However, Nomura calling him by his name just felt wrong. It was really no big decision to ask her if he could keep the nickname. It also brought some familiarity with it that Jim desperately needed in that moment. Besides, it honestly was a good name. Meanwhile, Nomura crossed her arms while she waited for his answer. Her green eyes never left his and Jim knew she could and would know it, if he tried to lie. 

"I'm Jim Lake, but little Gynt sounds better." He half said, half asked. 

In return he got a full laugh from the changeling lady. Then the deal was sealed with a nod and Jim had his nickname secured for all of eternity.

"Here, call your mother." She told him as she threw her phone in his lap. "I'll cover for you when she asks where you've been. Now that you are in our world we've got to stick together." 

A sudden flashback to his rescue from the darklands made Jim freeze. This was Nomura in all her harsh glory alright, but this version of her didn't lose hope yet. She still opened her heart, and to Jim it was beautiful to see her so happy. He silently swore on his heart and honor to keep it this way, but he really needed to figure out what caused this version of her to be like this. If he could find out, then he could help his own Nomura, in his own universe. She deserved better, and Jim would make sure his friend got her happy end just because he was "the good kid" who didn't like to see others suffer. Quickly he dialed his mother's phone number. After only two rings he was rewarded with an ear full of love and motherly worry. 

_Jim! Where have you been!? Toby said you weren't at home this morning!_

"Mom, I'm fine. Something came up way before school and I was too busy to call you. It was kind of a unplanned thing. I'm sorry for worrying you." 

_This something better be important, young man. It's not like you to just vanish into thin air._

Nomura had listened in with her changeling ears and was now hurrying to the rescue. She quickly snatched the phone from Jim before he could reply to his mother. 

"Hello? I'm Zelda Nomura, the museum's curator. You are Jim's mother, I presume? I borrowed him today. Your son has shown interest in my work for a while now and asked for an internship under my wing. Someone messed up today and I needed help with a shipment of ancient coins, and he was the only one who I can trust to help me with them. I am so sorry for the trouble." 

Jim's brow arched up at how smooth Nomura lied, but then he reminded himself that changelings were masters of deception. Living a lie for your entire life would turn anyone into a master truth twister. He knew first hand how easy it became too lie after only a short while. Once he got some free time he would ask her for lessons. With her as his acting teacher he could and would get the role of Romeo that he so desperately needed if he wanted Claire to go out with him again.

While Nomura took care of his mother, Jim let his eyes wander around some more. Half of him was analyzing the environment for possible battle advantages, while the other half was just genuinely curious. One piece of cyan quartz reminded him of Draal, but there was no way this could be from him. If Kanjigar was evil, then Draal was evil as well. He loved and admired his father too much to go against him. It broke something in Jim's heart to think that his surrogate brother would want to kill him. Regardless of what universe he was in, it was one thing to fight him when he was mind controlled, but it was another to know that it was truly him who wanted you dead. 

"Here's a blanket for you, kid. You look like you could use a nap. Don't worry, I've dealt with your mom and she isn't mad. Rest now. I'll take care of everything else." 

In Nomura's hand was a fluffy fleece blanket and a pillow, both a soft lilac color. It was typical comfort equipment to snuggle with in any emotional emergencies, so Jim accepted both with much gratitude. He laid down on the couch while Nomura turned the TV on to watch some Japanese drama that he couldn't understand. However, the sounds of a foreign language pulled him to sleep, and this time it was the peaceful kind. Finally, under the watchful eye of the scariest changeling assassin that he knew, Jim could rest. 

The nap took him roughly two hours, which clearly showed just how tired he had been. Jim woke up on his own and saw that his host was still watching her foreign shows. He tried to decipher what the actors were saying, but Japanese was a language he knew next to nothing about. Aside from memes, that was. Trollish was far easier to learn, and he was proud to call himself fluent in it. 

"Thanks for letting me crash on your couch. I really needed that." He said while he stretched. 

"You're welcome, little Gynt. How awake are you?" 

Jim thought about the strange question for a second or two before he answered, "awake enough to face the apocalypse, but still too sleepy to do my homework." 

"Good." Nomura said before she stood up. "As Bular told you, I am a changeling. We are made from a trollish birthstone, who then gets bound by blood to a human familiar. In ancient times we replaced powerful children, but nowadays we only take the terminally ill." 

Jim knew that Nomura was aware that she had his full attention. 

"We had to pick a side. When the wizard assumed direct control of his hunter, we were forced to forge an alliance with someone, or we would have faced extinction. My kind decided to fight with the humans and Gumm Gumms. The alternative would have been to join Merlin's bunch of soulless husks and that would have been our certain doom." 

"So you're fighting for humans? Even though you've been treated like trash in the past?" The question bubbled out of Jim before he could stop it.

But Nomura didn't mind at all. "Yes, little Gynt. We fight for humanity. The feeling of walking under the sun is incredible, and humans have gotten better nowadays. Some of your kind are respectable and clever, while others are wonderful sources of entertainment." 

The last sentence made a shiver run down Jim's spine, but it also brought a crooked grin onto his face. Apparently, messing around with idiots was something that was multiversal. After all, he still remembered the unofficial fourth rule of troll hunting in the modern times. _Rule number four: don't mess with Nomura._

* * *

The rest of the morning was spent wisely and rather calm. They ate breakfast together and Jim borrowed a new shirt from her, after a quick shower of course. It was a bit long, but thanks to his rather slim build it fit well enough. Better having a oversized shirt than one covered in troll slobber and hair. Jim also got a small bottle of special magical perfume that would cover his scent in an emergency. After that, the two made their way to school. He had only skipped half of the day after all, and it was a great excuse for Nomura to visit Strickler in his office later. 

As it was, the duo arrived just in time to interrupt the beginning of history class.

"Miss Nomura? And the young Atlas. How nice of you to show up after all. We have been missing you greatly." He said, putting his book down to better focus on the late arrivals. It was obvious that he was not amused by Jim's tardiness, but he looked more confused than angry. Strickler didn't like the feeling of wrongness that crept up his spine, that much was obvious by his stiff shoulders and tilted head. Jim knew he was wrestling down the urge to uncurl his wings, but Strickler would never do that in public.

"He helped me and my coworker today. You know, the one who always wears black and shouts a lot? The little Gynt managed to befriend him, and I got stuck babysitting your student. After that morning workout I thought he deserved some rest. I know we're late, but now he's here. I'm sorry for the trouble." 

With every new sentence Strickler's eyes widened more and more. When Nomura was done, his brows seemed to vanish into his hairline, and only because the teenager was trained to look for these things could Jim catch the sweat drops that ran down his forehead. Strickler's eyes flinched towards Jim's to look for something that only he knew about. Then he dismissed his student with a wave of his hand, letting Jim join his classmates and friends. He saw his young Atlas rush to talk with Tobias Domzalski, but then the incognito head of the Janus Order focused his attention back on his fellow changeling.

Meanwhile Jim tried to decipher which of Toby's squeaks were happy ones, which were angry ones, and which ones meant "you've got to tell me the whole story!" Thankfully speaking Toby was much easier than speaking Trollish, so he got his best friend calmed down again just in time for the lesson to resume. He also promised to tell him everything later, which indeed meant everything. Toby surely didn't know what he got himself into when he demanded to know every juicy little detail. Meanwhile Jim knew that he needed Toby with him. He had tasted what fighting alone was like, and he never wanted to hunt solo again, as selfish as that seemed to him.

Jim noticed that Strickler didn't get an aneurysm, thankfully, but the rest of the lesson was very easy and calm. He knew it was the calm before the storm.


	4. Crescent Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, I am going to tell you a lie, something true and something I made up just for this story. It's on you to figure out what is what. Also: things absolutely don't go as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shouldn't rush into this, but after reading all the comments I got I couldn't keep this until tomorrow. Have another chapter!

⩟-⨈-⩟

Jim enjoyed the dying sunlight that warmed his face on his way home. Toby was with him, still going ooh and in awe about his story about the trolls and multiverse travel. Toby was his most loyal friend so it was only natural that he would tell him everything, and Jim knew he would keep his promise to keep this secret. It took him a while to convince him, but in the end Toby took his word for it. It was just too much for Jim to just make up on the spot.

Mr Strickler had indeed been out of his mind when he heard what Jim had done, and he threatened to give him detention for the whole year if he ever pulled a stunt of this caliber again. After the lecture, he let him know that he expected Jim to visit him in the next two days, or else he would come to visit the Lake household instead. According to him, Jim needed to be briefed on the current situation and the danger he was in now. "Expect the unexpected!" he had said, and it was still haunting Jim. As much as he hated to admit it, this was the easiest way to get the information about this parallel world that he needed so much. Jim hoped this Strickler was supportive and nice as well. The teen sincerely doubted that they would both survive another Angor management session or steak knife duel. 

As it was, they rode on Toby's bike together since Jim's own was still at home. Thankfully he hadn't taken it to go to the canals that morning, or it would have been trashed at best, eaten at worst. The ride was nice, calm and something that brought back many memories of easier times to him, but it all ended far too suddenly when Kanjigar himself appeared right in front of them. Toby abruptly stopped, which made Jim almost fall off. The closed off road gave the trollhunter enough shade, space and privacy to trap both boys without being seen or sunburned. However, Jim was sure that the entire downtown area heard his roar. 

**"Whoa!"**

**"Jim?!"**

"Tobes, run. Run!" He yelled.

Jim ripped Toby off his bike just in time to roll away from Daylight's sharp end. It hit a car beside them and cut it clean in half, leaving a bright trail of blue magic behind that had far too many green sparkles in it for Jim's liking. Something about it made him feel uneasy. It was odd, like when he fought Angor in the school and the assassin used it against him. The blade felt wrong in the most irking way possible, and Jim knew what it was supposed to be like, and to feel like. He had first hand experience with it after all.

"Oooh my god! Jim, Jim do something! He's going to crush us!" 

"Toby! Stay down!" Jim hissed, then pulled his best friend around a corner.

They hid behind a truck, but Kanjigar could still hear them. His amber eyes narrowed as he came closer. For something of his size he was dangerously quiet. Jim recognized the way he walked as one of their predecessor's techniques. There was only one trollhunter who would ever catwalk like a model.

"Your friend is right. I am going to crush you. Now, step out of your hiding spot and face justice with dignity." 

Daylight wasn't the shining beacon of hope that it was supposed to be. Instead it was a murky ray of sunshine on a cloudy November day. 

"For the glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command!" Jim chanted, hoping that even after everything he has been through the sword would recognize him. It did not. 

"No, human. Daylight is mine to command!" Growled the trollhunter, "and I will make sure you won't see another sunrise. Your trespassing will not endanger my kind, or either of our worlds for any longer."

Jim did a sideway dive to dance around the Daylight glaives. Then he ducked when Kanjigar swung his sword. However, he was losing ground, and he did so fast. He needed something to do, some idea to get them out of there, or a weapon to fight. He couldn't let Toby down. He couldn't die and leave them all behind. If he wanted to survive this, he needed a plan, and he needed one fast.

"No human shall ever lay eyes upon a troll again! It is for your own good, no. For everyone's good! Your death will be merciful and quick, I promise you this."

Time seemed to slow down as the sword of Daylight came for him from above. Swung in an elegant arc, it was going to rip out his heart with ease in the next few seconds. Jim felt ghosts of his mother's hugs on his skin, while he heard Toby and Claire cheering from within his memories. All of the good memories, the moments of victory and happiness, they flashed through his head. This emotional storm pulled him in, and made him numb to the world around him. If he was to die, then he would die with a happy memory in his heart, and a smile on his face. 

Deep down his inner fire burnt out, cooled down and froze rigid as he realized that it was over. The spark that once ignited his soul and had fueled his passion to fight went out with a pitiful poof. After everything he has been through he was facing his end. With no weapon, and all alone. He failed to keep his promises, and he failed to spare others the pain of loss that he dreaded so much himself. He would be gone without a goodbye, just like his father, and he regretted it more than anything. His last wish was that Toby made it out alive.

Jim slumped down onto the ground hard, hitting his shins and earning him some nice bruises on his knees. However, a few seconds passed and yet he was still in one piece, and the reason for this miracle stood right across the street. 

"Father!" 

At the sound of Draal's voice Jim let out a gasp. He always thought he would see him again in the void, when his time came to join his predecessors. Yet, here he was in all of his glory. Draal "The Deadly", the destroyer, and his surrogate brother. Jim looked up from his spot on the street to see bright golden eyes shine back at him. He knew those eyes and he knew that the eager gleam in them meant that there would be collateral damages. Nothing would be safe during the fight. He was going to go all out. Jim prayed that enough of him would be left for his mom to bury properly.

Then Draal tucked himself together and started to roll. He drifted around Jim's huddled form with ease and intent, and crashed straight into his own father.

"Go! Run to safety. He won't be able to follow you into that alleyway!" 

Draal pointed towards the slim way that lead behind the electronics store. He then turned around and tackled Kanjigar again, keeping him busy while Jim jumped to his feet to rush to Toby. By now he was running on pure adrenaline alone, and it showed in how he stumbled around. Toby was not so lucky. He was completely out of breath and absolutely terrified. The chubby boy kept flinching every time one of the trolls crashed into the ground or came too close for their liking. To Draal's credit, he managed to buy the two teens enough time to escape into the slim alley and vanish into the night, but Jim couldn't leave him behind. He lost his friend, his brother in everything but blood, once. He wouldn't let Draal die for him again.

In an instant the snuffed out fire in him turned into a unbreakable shard of ice. It spread across his soul, covering him like a shield from within himself. This inner armor kept his soul's light safe from harm. Jim's whole core was full of determination as hard as steel to protect his loved ones. In that moment he swore that he would never give up that easily again. He would fight to stay with his loved ones as long as he could, and nothing would take them from him. No magic or sword could break his spirit. Finally, Jim had regained what he lost during his travel.

Then, a voice that was just barely more than a breeze whispered softly into his ear, and he followed it's lead, _**"By Deya's grace, Moonlight is mine to command!"**_

_Wait a second, that's not-?!_ Even though he had only called for it once, Jim knew that it was the wrong incantation. However, this was not the time to dwell on it.

There was a flurry of light around him that shone much gentler than Daylight and it's bright imposing glow. The armor that came to Jim was one he only donned once before in his life, and it wasn't for long either. Jim remembered that he used Moonlight against a reborn Angor when he lost Eclipse briefly, but to have it answer his call now, and especially under these circumstances, was as shocking as it was a relief. Finally he had a weapon to fight properly, even though he had only used it one time and he was definitely not trained to use a bow. 

The silver light show had caught Kanjigar's attention and effectively stopped him from beheading his own son. Draal was in a very bad shape. His crystals were scattered everywhere across the street, like some form of glittering confetti. Some where cut off while others looked like they were ripped out. Thankfully there was no blood. Yet, it only fueled Jim's determination to save him. Draal would survive. There was no "if".

"I can't believe you of all people would do this. He loves you! He idolizes you! How could you?!" Jim screamed. He didn't even notice the tears on his cheeks until one dropped onto his armor with a wet *plink*. 

The amulet that was now pulsing in tandem with his heartbeat was a deep silver. The six stones inside it gave it's engravings a colorful yet milky white glow that shimmered in as many ways as a shattered kaleidoscope. Likewise the armor and bow it summoned were the same: darker than Daylight, but lighter than Eclipse. Not a hunter, but also not a predator.

Acting on muscle memory alone, Jim aimed the bow of Moonlight at Kanjigar's shoulder, right where the chest plate ended, and shot a bright white streak that could be mistaken for a shooting star. The shot failed to hit it's target, but still caught the trollhunter's foot and made him jump. That split second of confusion allowed Draal to escape. He grabbed Jim, threw him on his chest and rolled off into the sewers, away from Kanjigar and towards safety. 

"Raaarrh!" 

His injuries forced Draal to uncurl and run on his legs. Thankfully the sewer tunnels were big enough for him to fit, unfortunately that meant that Kanjigar could follow them. Quickly he put Jim on his head before he sprinted with every bit of strength he had left. They made a sharp turn left and shot out of a dry pipe, only to slide past a bunch of parked cars. Jim held onto Draal's massive horns for dear life, but when Kanjigar roared again he had the turn around. He was catching up on them, and Draal was in no shape to do anything else than run right now. So, instead Jim put his legs against the lower branches of Draal's horns and unleashed a multishot of five arrows that stopped Kanjigar long enough for them to escape. Accuracy be damned this time. 

With mild interest he noticed that all five of the magical arrows had different colors, and the second gave the mad trollhunter a nasty sunburn on his right thigh. That was finally enough to make him stumble and stop. With a dark hiss the trollhunter retreated back into the sewers until he recovered enough to hunt again.

"I'm going crazy myself if that's what I focus on." Jim looked down on his savior with alarm, "Are you okay?" 

After a few more steps Draal crashed down and skidded to an halt on his face. He let out one more grunt before he lost consciousness due to his injuries. Thankfully Jim knew basic troll first aid, and advanced human first aid so he could somewhat patch him up on the spot. He wouldn't die. Not on Jim's watch, but the broken crystals looked every bit as painful as they were dangerous. A few sprays with Nomura's anti-troll perfume and he could finally breath without the fear of Kanjigar jumping at them from out of nowhere.

Now that things had calmed down again, it left him to wonder. Draal had fought his own father, and for a stranger, a human none the less. The original Draal wouldn't even have considered this in his wildest drunken dreams. Jim was none the less grateful for it. He tried to resist the urge to hug the downed troll beside him, but ultimately he failed. The feeling of having him back, relatively safe and sound was too much for his human heart. The broken crystals may have been a sharp hazard to hug, but Jim didn't care. He could hear Draal's heartbeat through the tons of stone that he was, and that alone gave him the strength he needed to move on.

He looked at his armored and gloved hands, clad in the hodgepodge mix of magic that made up the Moonlight armor. If he remembered correctly then it was made to pursue and end Angor Rot, and yet Jim was wearing it with no Angor in sight. There was also the paradox of the two amulets, where there was supposed to be only one. He would have to bite into the bitter lemon to ask Strickler about it as soon as he got the chance, but first he had to bring Draal to safety. If Kanjigar wasn't getting them, then either the sun, or his mom would do so, and he had lost enough time already.

Trollmarket was out of the question and the Janus Order was too far away, not that he knew how to reach them anyway. Strickler's secret office was behind a door that he couldn't open, Toby was missing in action, and he had no way to contact Bular. Then it hit him where he was. This was the tiny patch of forest that separated the canals from the more rural area of Arcadia. His house wasn't far too away, and his basement was large enough to house a injured troll. He just needed to get home, hide Draal and eliminate any and all evidence before his mother came back. The exhausted teenager was not ready to have that conversation with her after everything that happened that night.

Finally, Jim had a plan. Better late than never. He somehow managed to squeeze under Draal's head so that the troll's massive chest was on his back, and then proceeded to drag him towards his home. Jim was using Moonlight to pull it off, thankful to have it. With the glowing crescent moon on his chest plate he didn't feel so vulnerable anymore.


	5. The Basement Blues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost 3AM, but there's been someone who reeeeally wanted this chapter up, so who am I to say no?

⩟-⨈-⩟

Getting Draal into the basement was far easier than getting him into the house, even with the help of Moonlight. Jim might have accidentally lost his grip and let Draal tumble down the stairs on his own. Thankfully the troll warrior was still out cold, or else he would have felt the fall down the stairs, the old flower pot that fell on his head, and/or when Jim yeeted himself over his leg and knocked into his nose. At least he was alone and none of the neighbors had bothered to check what the loud banging was, _yet._

Barbara had come back at around midnight to pick up her phone. Jim, thinking fast, had told her that he just wanted something to drink, when she asked why he was in the basement when he should have been in bed. He even brought a bottle of soda with him to make it seem more real. As stressed as she was, Barbara didn't notice the lie. She just kissed her son on the head and wished him a good night. He still didn't like her late night shifts, but he was none the less grateful to have the house to himself. He wasn't sure how Draal would react to being where he was, or his wounds. 

"I love you, kiddo" 

"Love you too, mom!" He called after her. Both longing and guilt mixed in Jim's chest as he watched her go. 

Then he remembered his guest and smacked himself a facepalm on the nose. Draal needed help, and thankfully he had everything he needed already at home. Jim rushed off to grab every bottle of super glue they had, bandages, sandpaper and a metal file. He also got the wounded troll in his basement some old blankets and pillows to rest on. Then he made his way into the dark den below to tend to his patient. 

Jim worked quickly and efficiently. His hands were as steady as his mother's and his work would have made her very proud if she could have watched. First he got rid of any dead stone that could splinter, then he used the sandpaper to smoothen the edges before he glued the deeper cuts together. It wasn't molten metal, but it did it's job just as nicely. After only half an hour Draal was bandaged up. He just hoped he wasn't in too much pain.

As he was putting everything back where it belonged, Jim had a moment to look at the amulet he now called his. There was what looked like a guitar plectrum attached to it for some reason, and the engravings looked much cleaner than before, not that he had any right to complain with his terrible handwriting. Said engravings still looked and felt wrong. He could remember the Moonlight incantation, and this was not it. However, it still worked so the only logical explanation that Jim could come up with was that it had to do with his dimension jump. He could feel the headache form already. Time travel alone was a mess to deal with, but time and space combined was too much to deal with at 1:16 in the morning.

While he was waiting for Draal to regain consciousness, Jim must have fallen asleep, because when he next opened his eyes he was looking straight into Draal's flaming golden ones. The excitement of the day had finally caught up with him, which made him slow and unfocused. Jim just wanted to sleep now that there was no evil McBadguy chasing him. He smiled at Draal like he had met an old friend, which was partially true. Then he waved sluggishly before he tried to stand up.

"I owe you my life, human." Never before had Jim heard Draal this humbled by anything. 

"My name's Jim and you're welcome. I don't expect anything in return." 

"My name is Draal, son of Ballustra, and I insist. Going against the trollhunter is stupidly dangerous, but actually standing up to him and holding your ground? It's impossible for a human. No offense." He mumbled the last part a bit awkwardly. 

Jim couldn't hide the snort that came out of his nose. Neither could he stop himself from smiling. However, that smile quickly turned into a frown when he realized that his trollish guest had said he was his _mother's_ son, not his father's. In troll culture, that meant a lot. Trolls were very insistently proud of their lineage, and incredibly focused on honor. Renouncing one parent was a big deal and usually meant said parent was either A) a traitor, or B) even worse. 

Draal hummed in response to whatever squeak Jim had unconsciously made, deep in thought. He made a few attempts to speak, but every time he opened his mouth nothing came out. It was as if the words didn't want to be spoken, because Draal only hesitated if the topic was about feelings. Then he managed to force out two words that sent the human reeling.

"Jim, why?" 

"Sorry, what?" He asked, blinking twice in confusion. He was unsure what the troll meant.

"Why did you fight my father? Why did you risk everything to save me?" 

That had effectively shut him up for a bit. It wasn't every day that Jim got asked why he was fighting. The most obvious reasons why would be to protect his friends and loved ones, as well as because it was his duty to do so. However, that wasn't quite right, and Jim thought he forgot some important part. He tried to look deep into himself to find his answer, getting stuck more often than he liked to admit. It was when Jim thought about how Draal fought Kanjigar, his own father, that Jim found his own reason. 

"My dad left when I was 5. That's, like when I was a whelp. After that I promised my mom I would always be there for her. We would always be there for each other. Well, I... I just don't want anyone else to hurt." Jim confessed, then continued, getting more and more hectic with each word, "it hurt so much. One day he was there and the next he was gone and I still see his ghost sitting on the couch sometimes, only to realize that he isn't there anymore. I keep fighting because I don't want anyone else to go through **_this._** I've got the power to spare people from ever feeling like this, and you can bet your gronk-nuks on it that I will do my best."

After a small pause to catch his breath, Jim whispered, "That's why I saved you. I know there are people who will miss you dearly if you were to... you know." 

Draal bowed as best as he could with his injuries. He didn't want to ruin Jim's hard work, but he also wanted to follow tradition and show him the respect he deserved. Jim's little rant had touched the warrior in his heart and made him vow to fight by his side. The blue Monger troll was just seconds from standing up when Jim put his hand on his horn. What followed was the trollish equivalent of a brotherly hug. 

While he still had his forehead pressed against Draal's, Jim firmly told him, "you saved me first. That means we're even." 

They parted, leaving Draal to think and Jim to yawn until they heard Toby knock on the door. Jim sprinted up to greet his friend and then drag him back downstairs. He was glad that he had made it back alive and in one piece. A life without Toby was impossible to imagine for Jim. Meanwhile, Draal watched the humans do human things with a soft smile on his face. He looked almost content with his life, even though he must have been in incredible pain in that moment. Ibuprofen did not work on trolls, half-trolls and changelings. Jim had tried it twice and Stricklander confirmed it as well. Still, no pain in the world could keep the blue destroyer from looking intimidating in front of new people. It was a multiversal law that Draal was a show off, and rightfully so if one were to ask Jim.

"Hey, you're the one who saved us! Thank you so much, big spiky dude!" Toby cheered with only a slight flinch when Draal nodded. 

"Toby, meet our savior. Draal, this is my best friend Toby." Jim introduced them to each other. Toby had sparkles in his eyes at the sight of a legitimate, living, breathing and drooling troll in the basement. Draal was highly amused, treating Toby more like a star-struck whelp than a human teenager. He kept watching them for a bit longer to enjoy the mood. Eventually Jim got upstairs to grab something for Toby and himself to eat, while he also grabbed some empty glass bottles from behind the kitchen trash bin for Draal. He hoped these would ease his temper and give him something to crunch, just in case Jim's questions were ripping open old wounds.

"Can I ask you something?" The human started gently. 

"Sure." 

Jim sighed to ground himself. This was it, and he had to be very careful how he worded his questions. An offended Draal was dangerous, even if he was wounded, and Jim did not wish to fight him any time soon. He didn't know how close he was with his father in this dimension, but he didn't want to find that out the wrong way.

"The trollhunter is your father, right? I..." Jim hesitated, deciding on how to proceed. 

After a few seconds he went with a half-truth, "I have read and heard stories about him, and in these he was a good troll. He was a brave warrior and a caring and loyal person. What happened to him?" 

At this Draal looked positively flabbergasted. His jaw could have got the floor if not for Toby pushing his mouth closed again. Jim let him process things, he seemed to need it, but inwardly he was worried about Draal's reaction. It took several of Toby's patented troll comfort pats before they got an answer.

"I can't believe someone remembers the real him... Oh, fleshbag, you don't know what that means to me. When the former trollhunter died, the wizard Merlin cast a spell on my father that made him go mad. It was bearable in the beginning, but eventually the nightmares didn't stop when he was awake. He lost pieces of himself with each passing day until the only thing that was left is the husk you saw tonight. He isn't my father anymore, now he is Merlin's creation. My father died long ago, which is why I'm so glad that someone else knows of the true him."

"Why would Merlin do this?" Jim asked horrified by the thought, and by the memory of his own unbecoming adventure. Deep down he knew that his own Merlin was capable of stepping over the little people, if it served the needs of the many. This version of the wizard terrified him with his casual use of people.

"Deya "The Deliverer" saw through his play. You see, she was a wild one who rarely just obeyed because someone said so. Deya was good, compassionate and noble, so she went against Merlin's orders. Instead of fighting like she was told, she united us peacefully. The wizard didn't like this for some reason that I don't know. You have to ask someone older. What I do know is, that she paid the price for it. Merlin labeled her as traitor and left her to die." 

That left both Jim and Toby to gape and stare. Both boys had a heavy feeling in their hearts, but each for a different reason. With numb hands and shaking legs, Jim went upstairs to grab some sleeping bags so that he and Toby could stay with Draal for the night. He left a note for his mom that said he was having a sleepover with Toby and that she shouldn't worry. Once he returned, no words were needed between the boys and the troll. Each knew what was going on and what to do. The two humans fell asleep sheltered by Draal's strong arms, while they were reassuring their protector that he was not alone. If Jim had any say in the matter, then would never be. 


	6. Oh Romeo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some filler to get more character development for later chapters. Also, kudos to anyone who can guess who he's chatting with without looking at the tags! :D

⩟-⨈-⩟

Draal woke up in the early morning hours. Jim woke up five seconds later. 

Ever since his little field trip to the darklands, Jim had become a light sleeper. Any and every small noise could and would wake him up, and it had him battle ready before he was even standing. Toby however, slept like a boulder. Draal sent an apologetic look to his human host, but the teen shrugged it off with an easy smile. It wasn't his fault, so he shouldn't have to apologize for anything. As quiet as a changeling spy, Jim climbed out of Draal's makeshift nest and towards the shelf where the glue was. He knew the blue Monger troll had pulled open a few of his cracks and he wanted to fill them before they could scar. Jim didn't want to think about the "or worse" because then he kept seeing memories Draal's golden prosthetic. Jim made a silent oath to not let that happen again.

Unfortunately the teen had no flashlight. Human eyes just couldn't see in the dark like troll eyes and his phone was upstairs plugged in to charge. He patted his jacket and pants out of habit and found his Moonlight amulet in his right pocket. It's white glow was enough to light up his path, while it was still dark enough to not wake Toby. Now that he could finally see, Jim easily found the glue that he was looking for and started to work on Draal. Again. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, Jim noticed how Draal kept glancing at the Moonlight amulet with both curious and yet worried eyes. 

"I'm not sure where it came from, but that's not Daylight, and I'm not working for Merlin. After what you told me tonight, I will never do so, unless the world is ending." Jim whispered. 

"You know, I almost followed my father. I really almost did, but then someone helped me realize what he had become. What that thing made him become..." Draal confessed regretfully.

This time Jim just pocketed the glue tube instead of putting it away. He gave Draal a comforting pat and laid down again to get some more sleep before school. Slowly, he closed his eyes, curled together like a scampi while he let out a soft sigh. Then Draal rumbled again, which made him snap his eyes open one last time.

"You were right. There is someone who would miss me. Thank you for reminding me of that."

Jim nodded slowly, and with slightly blurry eyes that might have been tears, or were just sleepiness. The warm feeling that spread through him made falling asleep much easier. Not that it wasn't easy already because he was still exhausted. A near death experience would make anyone feel tired. He just hoped that he would not get any nightmares about it. It was a miracle that he didn't need to fight with Draal, not that he wasn't grateful for this. However, what it did was confuse him even more. First was Bular, who was nice. Then was Nomura, who was also nice. Both were, or started out as, his enemies in the original universe. It had only been logical for Draal, who was a good guy, to be evil, and yet he was not. That meant things were much more complicated than just a simple role reversal, and it was driving Jim nuts. To survive, he had to figure out the pattern. Jim wanted to knew what made things change and he would find out, even if he had to kick down Gunmar's front door to get answers. 

But, not that day. Before he could do anything else he fell asleep again. Draal didn't seem to mind that his arm was used as backrest. 

* * *

  
When Toby and Jim snuck up to the latter's room it was already bright outside. Barbara had just arrived back home and was coming upstairs to check on the boys, after finding Jim's note. The two must have looked positively dreadful, because doctor Lake herself pressed her lips together, called Toby's grandmother, and then let the school know that both teens were staying home. She never called for no reason, and having a trauma surgeon judge whether or not you are sick was enough reason for the school to just believe it. 

"Mom, I'm okay. Really." Jim tried, but his still pale face and the bloodshot eyes spoke against him. 

"You two are in no condition to go. I've seen a lot, and this isn't because you stayed up late. Something happened and it affected you to the point where you definitely need some rest. Both of you." 

Barbara hugged the stuffing out of her son, "whatever it is, I am always here for you. You can come to me and talk about anything and everything. I promise I will listen, and try my best to help you. Okay?"

"You're the best mom ever. I want to, but, well, not now. I need some time to think about it myself. But, but I promise I'll tell you when I'm ready." Jim inwardly cursed his stuttering. He hoped that his mom didn't see through his half-truths, because he hadn't lied about needing time to think and process everything. 

She just ruffled his hair and headed to her bedroom to sleep. Jim let out a sigh of relief when her shadow disappeared out of view and he heard her door click shut. Now he just needed to let Draal know to be extra careful and quiet until the late afternoon, but Jim knew the troll could and would manage. He let Toby sleep some more in his bed and went downstairs to their guest again, smiling when he saw how Draal's eyes lit up at the sight of good company. 

"Hey, listen, my mom is back home so you need to be careful down here. She usually doesn't go into the basement, but just in case, there's a spot behind the furnace where you can hide." 

Draal nodded, made a shhhh gesture with his finger before his lips and then smiled. Dutifully, he kept his voice low when he asked Jim if he could borrow his phone for a moment. At first Jim didn't even register the question, but then he sent his friend an odd look. He found it still plugged in and fully charged where he had left it the day before, so he quickly swiped it up and sent Draal another odd look. A troll using a smartphone, as amusing as it was it made no sense in Jim's head. Then, with Draal's permission, he signed into a online chat site for him. Jim would never forget that Draal's username was **Mr D. Deadly** , and his password was **"ROCK AND ROLL"** in all caps. 

"Here, this contact." He pointed towards a little pink heart icon, "write her exactly this: I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm with a friend." 

Jim did so and got a ping in return just seconds later.

_\- Don't you ever do that again to me! I was up all night, waiting for you to come home. -_

Both boys winced, Jim in sympathy and Draal because of guilt.

"Now type: the course of true love never did run smooth." 

_\- Love sought is good, but given unsought is better. -_

"Doubt that the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move his aids. Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt my love." 

Jim just typed what the troll told him to type. He purposefully disengaged from the entire ordeal and retreated into the most remote part of his mind. His troll brother was flirting with someone, and Jim had to type it out. He might have been born as an only child, but only child syndrome could only protect you so much. This kind of awkwardness was more than he could handle, but he endured. Draal was counting on him.

_\- I pray you, do not fall in love with me, for I am falser than vows made in wine. -_

"Love hath made thee a tame snake." 

_\- And it made you soft. Alright. I'll hear from you soon? -_

"I promise." 

And with that Jim logged out of the chat and closed the site. He wanted to ask so many questions but he couldn't make a single sound. His face was as red as it had been when his mom made the spaghetti sauce explode that one time. He just wordlessly shoved the phone into his pocket and shrugged whatever feelings were creeping up on him off. Likewise, Draal looked positively embarrassed once he had realized what just happened. He was just about to say something when Jim held up his hand.

"Don't make it awkward. Here I give you a deal, I won't tell a single soul about this, if you help me practice and rehearse for the school play. I really want to impress Claire." 

The relief was visible on Draal's face when he answered, "I accept. Which play are we talking about?" 

"Romeo and Juliet. I have to be amazing or else I won't get Claire's attention, and I really like her." 

Draal laughed confidently and crossed his arms. He knew that one very well, and even if it was a small thing to do, it was a way for him to repay his life debt to Jim. No matter what the human said he owed him and Draal was honor bound to repay this debt.

"When do we start?" 

And with that it would seem that Jim's original plans had been ruined. Instead of Nomura, _**Draal**_ of all people was now his acting teacher and theater study buddy. He was surprisingly good at it as well, even if he preferred to quote things over making up new lines. He also sucked at improvising, but that indirectly helped Jim a lot. In no time had he memorized, or rather re-memorized what he needed. Now he only needed to rock the tryouts for the play and get the role. However, he was still burning to know just where the warrior had picked up Shakespeare. His Draal had never been a troll of many words so it was incredibly amusing to watch and listen to him recite "Hamlet" on demand. 

He also wanted to know something else, "Draal?"

"Hmm?"

"Toby needs to learn how to defend himself. Kanjigar has sworn to hunt him too, and neither of us can always be around to protect him. Do you think you could show him how to use a war hammer, after you've healed?" 

The troll put his first over his heart and gave a solemn oath to be the best teacher to Tobias Domzalski that he could find. Then, he immediately switched topics again and reminded Jim that he still had to make himself some lunch. In all the awkward lovey-dovey excitement he had totally forgotten about dinner, and he would under no circumstances let his mother attempt to make carbonara. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 23.08 - fixed some spelling


	7. Janus Neophyte

⩟-⨈-⩟

At 16:30 sharp Barbara left for work. With his mom out of the house Jim could finally let Draal out of the basement. Once the Monger made it to the living room he stretched carefully, mindful of his healing cracks, and then lumbered towards the trash bins outside. Jim didn't mind, and if a raccoon was eaten as well then so be it. He was a little ashamed to admit that he accidentally attempted to eat a spoon while he was cooking. As much as he tried to act normal, it was a little difficult to get rid of the trollish habits he had acquired as half-troll. It may not have been that long, but it had been long enough apparently. Thankfully nobody had caught him, or else he would be having a very bad time trying to explain it.

Toby woke up at around 2 in the afternoon, and the sleeping in did him wonders. He was back to his energetic self, which chopped off a lot of weight on "young Atlas's" shoulders. Some days he thought Strickler might have been right to call him Atlas, but unlike his nick-namesake Jim had friends that helped him carry the weight of the world. With the worry about Toby gone he could enjoy watching his best friend bug the Gronk out of Draal. With the warrior's short fuse it was only a matter of time until something ended up broken, and yet Jim was completely relaxed because he knew Draal wouldn't hurt them. 

The soft bubbling of boiling water steered Jim's attention back to his carbonara. It was an easy dish to prepare, but that didn't matter in his eyes. After eating a blender Jim's mind forgot what was food and what not , he honestly thought that he could eat his spoon. It left him with a very human toothache and in a sour mood. First he had missed human food so much, and now he couldn't decide what to eat at all, and it drove chef Jim insane. Thankfully he knew how to cook blindfolded and with one arm behind his back or else Toby would have found paperclips in his pasta.

"Tobes! Dinner!" 

The chubby boy came at him with a speed that could make Gunner trolls jealous. He also had the appetite of a Quagawump. Thankfully Jim made more than usual, just in case. Draal followed a bit later and more calmly. By the looks of it he had emptied the trash bins and found the old lamp that Barbara wanted to throw away. The thing was broken anyway, so he didn't mind at all. While he brought the plates to the table, Jim made a mental note to grab some more busted light bulbs when he got the chance. He knew that the fire department always had enough of these because people brought them there. Draal deserved a nice dessert for being a brave big warrior.

_"Bushigal!"_ Said warrior cursed when he bumped into a chair and it fell over. 

"There are no gals, and they're definitely not bushy. Seriously, Jimbo, are you sure he's okay?" Asked Toby around a fork full of noodles. 

Without thinking about it Jim answered, "it's a curse word." 

"You speak Trollish? Where did you learn my language?" 

Jim was sweating bullets under Draal curious gaze. He wasn't supposed to know about anything related to the trolls, yet. If he were to admit that he was fluent in it, then he would need to answer more questions. He needed a solid lie to get out of this one, because saying "oh I'm from another time and dimension" sounded a lot more unbelievable than anything he could come up with on the spot. Jim bought himself some time to think by making uh and oh sounds, while he hoped that Draal thought he was just bashful. Then it hit him. 

Jim sighed and lied in a tone he would use to console disappointed younglings, "I'm sorry. I don't speak it, exactly. It's just the way you said it that made me think it's a swear word." 

"I guess I just got lucky?" He added just for good measure. Thankfully Draal accepted his emergency lie. Toby on the other hand shot him a strange look that turned into disappointment soon after. After how fast Claire had learned the language, the other Toby had really hoped to learn how to speak Trollish too, so the teen assumed it wasn't any different in this dimension. Maybe, if he pulled some of Strickler's heartstrings he could arrange something for his best friend. If not, there were always some books or a indebted troll warrior he could ask.

"Okay everyone, finish dinner. Then we'll go and visit Mr Strickler." 

* * *

The night was young, for a troll and people with a trollish sleeping schedule that is. Jim was used to staying up late. In fact, Jim was still feeling weirdly hesitant to wake up in the mornings. After getting sun stains once he was a little bit scared of bright sun beams, even now that he was human again. Draal of course was a troll who didn't get to experience sunshine on his face unless there was a special magical stone involved, which meant he didn't miss it. Toby on the other hand was running on excitement and sugar only. Jim knew as soon as the excitement died down he would fall asleep. 

The trio arrived without much fanfare, and just in time to catch Bular talking to Strickler about Jim. The obsidian troll was almost ripping up the ground while he huffed and puffed, fully caught up in his frustration. Not being able to find him was irking the prince in a way only a few things could. The quill like scruff on his back stood up as if a lightning strike had hit it. Jim knew it was just agitation and dare he be thinking it: worry. The basement dwellers patiently waited for Bular to finish yelling at Strickler to "do something!", before Jim announced their arrival with a soft cough. 

"Uh, hi. Sorry we're late." 

Half above, and half behind him Draal huffed out a puff of air in agreement. He went over to Bular gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder to say hello, but he held back a lot. His injuries were still only barely healed and the glue could only do so much. In response an entire mountain seemed to drop off Bular's shoulders as soon as he saw Draal. Knowing his friend was save, the relief made him deflate. Once all of the obsidian troll's hair had de-fluffed, Jim thought it was safe to talk to Strickler. The face his mentor made when he saw Jim casually stroll past two grunting trolls was enough to make the teen snicker on his way. Truthfully, Jim felt a tad bit guilty about it. This wasn't his Mr Strickler, this was not the man who had done all the dirty deeds that his counterpart had. Deep down Jim hoped he could have the mentor - protege relationship with this Strickler, that broke apart in the original universe. 

"Young Atlas. Do I even want to know?" He asked with enough exasperation in his voice to make him seem decades older. However, there was also fondness and worry laced in it. 

Jim smirked in response, "I seem to have a knack for collecting them?" 

Behind him Toby and Draal shared a fist bump with huge grins on their faces, then Bular gave them both some gemstones. He made a face as if he just lost an impromptu bet with them, and Jim had a feeling it was about the changeling's reaction. 

Strickler shook his head, but couldn't suppress the laugh that bubbled out of him. He put his hands on Jim's shoulders and gave the teen a unreadable look. Again he was searching for something inside Jim's eyes, but before the teen could ask him, he turned away. The changeling fished a small silver ring out of his coat pocket, that had a blue gem centered in what looked to be an eye. When Jim moved to get a better look, the gem switched colors to red, then back to blue. Strickler put it on Jim's left pinky finger. 

"This will allow you to follow me to a save place, the Janus Order. Always wear it on your pinky to show you can be trusted. Also, always wear it on your left hand to show you know how to lie." 

Jim nodded. He took Strickler's hand when he offered it to him and was rewarded with a flash of magic to the face. Instead of a human hand, he now held Stricklander's claws in his, but he wasn't afraid. Jim kept looking into the changeling's slitted yellow eyes, not backing down. He didn't show disgust, or hatred and it earned him a bone crushing hug. When a pair of wings folded around him, Jim knew he had won. His plan to befriend his teacher has worked flawlessly.

"I welcome you to my world, young Atlas, and to our sanctuary: the Janus Order. This is where two faces meet." 

Softly and carefully he removed his wings, and like a dropping curtain a massive hall made from black marble was revealed to Jim. He had honestly expected clinical white, but it wasn't like he knew anything about the order besides what Claire and Blinky told him. Right beside him, he saw Draal take Toby somewhere else, presumably to uphold his promise to train him. Bular also stomped away into a dark corner to vanish. His shade of black blended incredibly well with the whole room, Jim had a feeling that it was made to be this way on purpose. Everywhere around him was the same symbol: a mask with two faces. One human, one troll and they melded together like two halves of a whole.

Strickler removed his wings completely and it left Jim strangely hollow and mildly disappointed. Fortunately the perfect blend of modern technology and ancient magic was a good distraction from these feelings. Jim saw masterfully crafted runes on the walls that worked perfectly in tandem with circuits and machinery. Around them were mostly changelings, but also quite a few trolls. Some threw curious looks into Jim's direction when they passed, but none openly seemed to care like the Trollmarket trolls had when Jim first became a trollhunter. 

A important and high ranking changeling with candy apple red skin approached them and looked down at Jim. He was slender and tall, with horns that framed his entire face like a lion's mane. His strict attitude and cold reception instantly set of alarm bells in Jim's head. In response Moonlight started to glow in his pocket, but it seemed the changeling dismissed it as a phone. 

"Stricklander, you know that we have a system for this." He spoke with a nasally high voice.

"This boy saved one of our agents, and survived an encounter with the trollhunter. The entire situation is unique and I doubt we have a set of rules for this exact scenario." 

Red nose, Jim had nicknamed him, narrowed his eyes. He inspected the only human present once more, but this time more carefully. In a split second he scratched Jim's cheek with one of his claws to draw a single drop of blood, that he then smelled. By the looks of it Strickler was one breath away from murdering the red one. 

"Human. Completely human, but with a slight touch of magic. How curious."

At this Stricklander stepped between Jim and the other, protectively shielding the teen and rumbling out a growl, "this child is under my protection. As head of the Order I can and will invite anyone I chose. Have I made myself clear, virtuoso Yuva?" 

Red nose, or rather Yuva, scooted away from Stricklander to a respectable distance. However, as it was with changelings nothing ever seemed to be what it was, and Strickler didn't see the dagger that was aimed at his leg. Jim did however, and he let his instincts take over for a heartbeat or two. He ripped one of his mentor's feather blades out of it's hiding place on his cloak, and threw it. The feather and dagger smacked together with a sharp *pling* that sent sparks flying. 

"Acceptable, neophyte. You passed." Yuva said with a tone that was more aloof than a prideful cat. He then turned around and vanished into the constant stream of changelings that inhabited the Order.

With crossed arms and a few more grey hairs, Stricklander said, "we need to talk about your after school activities and hobbies. I was aware you are skilled with a knife in the kitchen, and yet you throw them with deadly accuracy. Is there anything else I should know, young Atlas?" 

Jim gulped down his nervousness, "yes. I actually wanted to ask if we could talk somewhere, you know, in private? Please?" 

This was his chance to get more information about Moonlight, the war and basically everything else. He just had to out-changeling the changeling. No big deal, Jim was confident in his abilities. After all, he faced worse horrors and survived. Quickly he followed his mentor towards what was obviously his office and living space whenever he was working for the Janus Order. Only this time Jim could ask freely and didn't need to fight past an Antramonstrum to get his answers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes. A background OC. The horror! haha don't worry. I won't turn this into a OC-story, however I do need some as background filler and *ehem* cannon fodder. Can I call them that without repercussions?


	8. Hit Or Miss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone really cool ( https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_Random_Guy12 ) helped me with this chapter. Or rather, helped me with the archery part. Like Jim, I know how to properly use a sword, but bows and arrows are a mystery to me. I'm still super grateful for the help!!

⩟-⨈-⩟

The inside of Strickler's office was exactly like Jim had imagined it to be. In the main part of the room was antique but well kept furniture that had been collected over time. The dark wood coupled with the moss green carpet made the office appear cozy, prestigious even, in the soft light of the candles and crystal fireplace. It was as cliche as it could be, but that made it undeniably Strickler's. Jim saw many books of all kinds, and about every topic he could imagine. Blinky's library was without a doubt more magical, and he had more troll books. However, Mr Strickler's library could have come straight out of a Potter novel. Jim knew his Claire would have loved this.

When he was offered a seat, Jim sat down. He didn't have any reason to be hostile, and yet he was still feeling this inner conflict inside again. On one hand this was just like all the times where Jim had went to Strickler to just talk after school, back before the amulet, when things were simpler. On the other hand he knew how dangerous the head of the Order could be. After everything there was no logical reason for him to be this scared, and yet the fear still persisted. Fear kept him above so far. He was trained to always be afraid, even when there was no need to be. Aside from that, Jim was trying to formulate a plan to properly ask for what he needed without revealing where he came from. That was a can of worms he didn't want to open up just yet.

"You know that you can speak freely with me. This room is sound proof and I locked the door so that nobody can come in and disturb us." Realizing that this might have sound like a threat, Strickler tried to save himself, "you aren't a prisoner however. Just let me know when you wish to leave and I will let you go." 

That did indeed ease some of Jim's nerves, and yet he was still anxious enough for Moonlight to react to him. It glowed again, this time more firmly, and the soft white light made Strickler hum curiously. 

"You might want to see who is trying to call you. It might be your mother." He advised.

Jim laughed out loud at that, and at the mental image of him using a magic artifact as phone to tell his mom to not use the microwave to heat her dinner. He fished Moonlight out of his pocket and held the amulet up to his ear to make a pretend call. Once Strickler realized just what in the world Jim held in his hand, his face quickly turned from confused too horrified. Jim then held it towards him to let his teacher take a closer look.

"Apparently it's called Moonlight. I wanted to ask if you know where it came from? Who made it? What can it do?" 

Instead of giving a proper reply, Strickler started to mutter to himself, "this is impossible. It was lost when... Besides there is no way that there are two. There can only be one, and, a-and that isn't- how can it be a human? Jim. Just what did you get yourself into?" 

The changeling gave the amulet back with a certain amount of uncertainty. It was obvious that he did not want to let his favorite student have a magical weapon, but he knew that once it bound itself to someone there was only one way to remove it. _Death._

"Can you call it?" He finally asked. 

Jim clutched the amulet it his hands. It's soft ticking was almost like laughter in his ears. Deep down he knew that it was okay to call it, but he still hesitated. The least time, in the original timeline, the amulet had ruined their relationship. It has brought him as much grief as it had brought him joy, so he carefully weighted his options before he decided on what to do. Stricklander was patient with him. Oh so patient and understanding, it made him wonder why the original, his original Strickler, had not just told him that he was going to betray Bular from the beginning. He had so many chances to talk to him, and yet he wasted all of them. This Strickler had seized the first opportunity as it presented himself, and Jim was more than grateful for that. Furthermore, this Strickler had earned Jim's trust.

"By Deya's grace, Moonlight is mine to command." 

In a flash, Jim had donned the armor again. It clicked and clanked against the armchair he had claimed as his which made it all the more real. 

"This is..." Strickler started awed by the sight.

"A game changer?" Jim finished with a cheeky smile. 

His mentor just nodded, slowly at first but then more confidently once the words had settled in. His eyes were full of pride and parental love for his student. Jim wasn't sure why he got picked as the changeling's favorite, but he knew that on this day he had made the old man very happy. He even endured the poking and prodding at his armor that followed suit. No single piece of kevlar or plate was left untouched, and it felt like Strickler was making sure that Jim was absolutely perfectly protected from all sides. When he rested his hands on Jim's shoulders the teen summoned his bow. 

"You will need to learn how to use it, fortunately you are standing before someone who has mastered all forms of ranged combat." 

As eager as a huge stone skinned bee, Strickler shoved him towards the shooting range part of the gym. The Janus Order had four arenas, three smaller ones and a great fourth one in the middle for duels and ceremonies. They were heading for one one the smaller ones, right beside another where Jim saw Toby and Draal sort through about two dozen hammers. When they saw him, Toby immediately ran to him and poked Moonlight with huge starry eyes. 

"Dude! You are so lucky. I want one too. Can I get one too?" He rambled excitedly. 

Jim just laughed at his friend's antics while Toby inspected the amulet embedded into his armor. He tapped it's surface and traced over the outer ring. Moonlight let it happen, being semi sentient itself the amulet had a mind of it's own. Out of the three of them, Eclipse was the one who hated strangers the most. Daylight was defensive, but Moonlight almost seemed friendly. That was until it finally zapped Toby for daring to look inside of it. Jim just laughed, at least nobody was thrown into any walls this time.

"Vivianite, amethyst, fire opal, wulfenite, peacock coal, and obsidian. You are sooo lucky indeed, Jimbo." 

At Strickler's confused expression Jim explained, "Toby's a geo nerd. He likes stones, A LOT." 

The changeling accepted this without further questions. Even after the short time he had spent with the teenagers he already knew that some things were better left alone, if he wanted to keep his sanity. Jim waved a small goodbye to his best friend and then followed his mentor again. On the way to their own arena, Jim couldn't help but observe how Strickler seemed to present him as some sort of trophy. Or rather, as if he was a proud parent who wanted the world to see how great his child was. Jim wasn't sure what to think. He might have his trust now, but he was still far from being his surrogate father, like Blinky had been. Deep down Jim doubted they could ever have a relationship like this one.

He had to push the serious thoughts about his future aside when Strickler led him into their arena. It was nothing like the forge, and yet they were so incredibly similar. The mechanism for the moving parts was the same, but the Janus Order's "heroes forge" was much more modern. The floors were made from the same material as the school's gym floor. White walls offered the illusion of free space, while indirect lights illuminated every spot. Then there were the sparring dummies and targets. Where Trollmarket had enough stone and edges to last two lifetimes, the Janus Order had modern tech and a flawless design. Jim looked at his mentor and nodded. This looked right, and it felt so too.

"Now, get ready. Relax your body, cramping up will not help you, but don't slouch. Put your feet apart into a safe stance. No! Not that far apart. You look like you want to imitate Draal." He laughed while he corrected Jim's posture.

The mentor leaned over his students shoulder, "now, hold up your hand, and put it against your jaw. You have to remember this one position, and never change it. Consistency is the key to success." 

Jim let his fingers rest against the cool material of Moonlight. Parts of it looked like troll horn, while the tips of the bow were obviously metal. There was a bendable something right around the grip, which in turn seemed to be some sort of wood that was laced together with crystal. The horn parts were very flexible and curved towards him. Jim thought that he could probably use the metal tips as a last resort weapon. 

After an initial flinch he let Strickler guide him into a secure stance before he pulled back the string of the bow until it was almost touching his nose. It was surprisingly hard this time, and nothing like when he fought Kanjigar with it. Then one of his arrows materialized in his hand. It glowed magically and was as light as a feather at first, but as soon as he aimed he could feel it getting heavier. At the end there were crystals instead of feathers that seemed to wrap around it like a spiral.

"Now, focus. Aim, and shoot." 

Jim imagined a point and aimed at it. The unfamiliar pose and continuous strain on his shoulders and arms made his muscles twitchy, but he didn't back down. With what could only be called a crystalline hissing noise he let his arrow fly, and completely missed. It went right over his imaginary point and landed somewhere behind the target. Yet, Jim wasn't going to give up this easily. Finally he knew which way his arrow was going, so he adapted his aim accordingly. In theory it should work this time. 

He repeated the process, pulled the string back once more and let another arrow sail through the air, and this time he was rewarded with a satisfying *twack*. He hit the outer ring, and couldn't help but grin when his mentor started to cheer. 

"Did you see that!" He cried while he threw his hands up. 

"Yes, young Atlas, I did. Well done!" 

This was the first time Jim has ever heard Strickler this proud of him. He's seen the changeling be proud and vain, even smug. He has seen him weep the loss of his mother's love, and then meek at the mere thought that he could have a chance with her. Yet, never before has Jim seen this side of his teacher. With a sudden jolt through his heart the he could actually feel, he realized that all Strickler ever wanted was acceptance and love. He hid behind the lie to crave power, making it seem like he was ruthless and cold, but deep down he wanted someone to call his family. Jim knew border beings had a hard time, so he understood. He truly understood. Which is why he accepted the pat on the head with a huge grin. 

If all it took was family and love, then he would make sure this Strickler wouldn't fall into the abyss of hate and schemes that the original has fallen into. A cough from behind him ripped the teen out of his victory dance. 

"Jim, there is something I need to talk with you about."

Strickler looked more annoyed than uncomfortable, but didn't say a thing. It was not like he had any say in this anyway. With an obviously heavy heart he let Jim go. The changeling ruffled his feather collar like a bird, then rushed back to his office to do something. Jim didn't know, it was hard to tell because his mentor was so hard to read sometimes.

As soon as he reached the doorway, a giant obsidian hand picked him up and put him on something very fluffy. This time it smelled like spices and herbs, which startled Jim. Someone had bathed Bular. The sheer audacity of this thought alone had him stop and gape for a bit. Since this was the nice Bular, Jim decided to take a risk and ask him about it. He climbed higher, putting his hands on the top spikes of Bular's horns and leaned forward so that the troll could see him.

"Hey, what's the occasion?" Jim casually said while he pointed at the washed scruff.

In reply Bular grinned proudly, "we are going to see someone very special." 

"And he or she is special enough to make you go and take a bath? Wow. We're going to see royalty or something?" Jim laughed.

"I am royalty too, you little gremlin." Rumbled Bular with a laugh from himself. "You have no fear. I like that." 

"Thanks? I try not to let it drag me down, but in all honesty I'm terrified 24/7." 

"No." Bular's tone became more gentle, while it still kept it's trademark strength, "you don't fear what you don't know. Instead, you embrace it without prejudice. You just take us as we are, monsters by humanity's standards. That is what I like. You and I, Jim, are going to forge a unique friendship."

That had the teen floored and speechless for the rest of the ride. It also gave him so much to think about that it made his head spin. He almost missed the giant double doors and the room full of skulls, weapons and other trophies. Only when they sat down before a troll-sized mirror did he snap out of it. The thing vaguely remembered Jim of a fetch, but that was not possible. A fetch always needed to have a hole in it or it wouldn't be a portal. So, with curious eyes he looked at the huge thing while Bular got comfortable. Then the light show started.

* * *

I've got something else for you all. I humbly present to you, my idea of what Moonlight might look like!


	9. Black Story Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Some lore. Took the author long enough.

⩟-⨈-⩟

It was a spectacle like no other. Hues of icy blue swirled together with acid green until the surface of the mirror resembled a river. Then a ripple rattled through it to clear the surface once more. Bright magic flared up to illuminate the entire room for a second, then it died down. Now the mirror was not showing them their reflections, but instead opened a window to another world. It was a feeling of magic so great that the air in the room was buzzing, and yet all Jim could think of when he saw Gunmar "The Black" look at him was, 

_Trolls have magic darklands Skype?_

He chose to keep that thought to himself for more than one reason. His main one being, that he didn't want to offend the father of the troll he was currently sitting on. Another reason was that Jim was genuinely curious about what a mirror version of Gunmar was like. He still looked the same, still had only one eye, and the blue glow of his carvings was as unfriendly as ever. However, there was a undeniable warmth in Gunmar's eye that Jim was very familiar with. He couldn't place it, but deep down he knew he has seen it before. Jim really hoped it meant that he was friendly, at least somewhat so. After everything that has happened in the last few days the teenager was sure this wasn't just some casual role reversal.

"My son. I have missed you greatly." Spoke Gunmar, the Gumm Gumm king.

Bular smiled as a shudder went through him that made Jim almost fall off.

"This is your human friend? Finally. I was beginning to think you were unable to befriend anything, my little horror." Gunmar teased his son. 

"Father!" Came Bular's embarrassed squeak. Parents were the same regardless of species, apparently. Jim was glad his own mother wasn't preset.

Then the dark king turned a curious eye towards Jim. He inspected the human that was clad in moonlight armor with a neutral expression. To Jim it felt like he was being judged, only that Gunmar was less disgusted by him than the tribunal had been. He remembered the way Ursuna and the other members of the troll tribunal had treated him. It still hurt how easily they had cast him aside. However, Jim couldn't get lost in his memories, not if one of the most dangerous warlords was looking at him. Eventually the black troll focused on his son again and left Jim to do Jim things without saying anything. The teen wasn't sure if he passed the test or not, and this uncertainty was making him nervous. 

"Have you told him of our history yet?" 

"Some of it, father, but not all. There was no time for it until now." Replied Bular while he avoided eye contact. 

"Very well." Sighed the dark king, "what may I call you?" 

"Jim. My name's Jim. It's a ah, terrifying to meet you?" Jim mentally slapped himself to have let that slip. He was just too nervous to think clearly. Last time he saw Gunmar, he just put Eclipse through the troll's chest. He would need a while to convince his subconscious mind that he was safe to talk to this version of him. 

However, Gunmar just laughed and roared in response. He was so amused by Jim's little mistake that he had tears in his eye. After the initial shock wore off, Jim could feel his muscles begin to relax a tiny bit. He was still a coiled spring, ready to jump, but not as much as before. Besides, he noticed how nothing else beside sound came through the mirror, so he was relatively safe.

"He's honest. You chose well, Bular. Now let's start at the beginning, and I'll make sure to tell you everything. Those changelings love to sugarcoat things. _**Feh!"** _The dark lord said as he leaned forward to tell an epic bedtime story. 

Bular was as eager as ever to just hear his father's voice while Jim was excited to finally get his much needed information. Once he knew what was going on with this universe he could finally make plans for the future. That it would be Gunmar of all people in the world to tell him was strange, but Jim wasn't picky. Not anymore at least. He put his chin on his knees and copied Bular. Jim listened as attentively as he could as the warlord tyrant told them about the past. 

"Long ago our worlds were at war. It was everything and everyone against everyone else. Humans, trolls, fair folk and so many more battled each other to certain death. We ate your kind, while the fae stole your children. In return you hunted us for our tusks and stone hearts, while the fae _\- the fair folk -_ took our hearts for their spells and rituals. Everyone fought for territory and power, until you humans won. The sunlight protected you, it gives you an edge over us, while we eradicated the fairies, your biggest threat. During this war I was born from the darkened heartstone. The blood of the fallen soaked it, and made it bear me. I am called an abomination because of it."

Gunmar made a dramatic pause, seemingly to sigh and think for a bit, but Jim could see past that. He wore the same expression his mother made every time she was regretting something. In that little moment Jim saw some small sliver of resemblance to her in the dark king. Gunmar was a lot, but only few realized that he was a father first and foremost. Jim was amazed by this discovery. Then, before he could comment on it, Gunmar continued.

"Many years after this war you humans became greedy. You took our lands and drove my kind deeper into the forests, and deeper underground. A foolish king sought to eliminate all that is not human to purify the world. His queen however stood against him. The sister of this king often came to us. She was... different. Her kindness taught us that there are good humans, as well as bad ones. This human sorceress was my first friend, just like you are my son's first friend. She did not care about my unusual origins. She just saw me for who I am. Eventually I gave her some of my horn so that she could forge a unique weapon from it." 

Gunmar growled at the next memory. 

"The king's personal pet wizard ordered for us to separate. My friend didn't listen and it came to a fight. Eventually, she left the human kingdom to live with me, but peace only lasted for so long." 

Jim felt a wave of dread creep up his spine. He slowly raised his hand to show he wanted to ask a question. At Gunmar's nod he said, "Was her name Morgana?" 

Immediately the king's blue eye turned warm as a fond expression settled on his face. He confirmed Jim's question with a simple nod. _Yes._

"Morgana was a strange human. Sorceress or not, she was unique. It was her influence that made Deya rebel against Merlin and go a more peaceful route. Deya, one of the trollhunters, was ordered to kill us all, but instead she united the troll clans of Europe under one bridge." 

"Killahead." 

"Correct, my son. Killahead bridge was supposed to symbolize the bridges build between the clans. However, Merlin ripped his amulet from Deya's chest and used it to banish us trolls. We Gumm Gumms protected our brothers and sisters, at the cost of our own freedom. Deya died on that day by Merlin's hand because she saved my son's life." 

It was like they had broken Jim, but in reality he was just digesting the story. There were as many parallels to his universe's story as there were differences. However, Jim felt like there was something special still missing, the key point of change that set off everything. He still wanted to ask so much more, but Gunmar was done with the story and Jim was still too scared to pry open old wounds. Obviously Morgana was a major player, so he decided to research her more once he got the time to do so. 

Gunmar's voice ripped Jim out of his thoughts again, "You are scared, Jim." 

Deciding that honesty worked best with him so far, Jim answered, "I am, but not of you. You are actually a good story teller. No, I... I scared of Merlin and Kanjigar. See, it's been only my mom and me until recently, and I care about her a lot. I'm scared that they will use her to get to me. From what you've told me so far, Kanjigar is a lot more dangerous than I had thought at first." 

Jim let out a half chocked sigh. He ran his head through Bular's scruff until he found that one special spot again. With an absent mind and a voice full of grief he asked if he could lie down somewhere. Bular was hesitant but offered his head, saying it was the safest place to be. Jim didn't fight to get a proper human bed. He just laid down on his back and hoped for the best.

"Why can't we just get along?" He whispered just loud enough for the trolls to hear. The, _"I'm sick of ancient wars and snobby wizards who know everything better."_ Was too quiet and mumbled to be heard however. 

While the human let life pass by in a daze, father and son shared a moment. Bular let out a longing howl while he touched the mirror's surface with his claws. He was careful to not scratch it. There was no way he could get through the week without his magical mirror to talk to his father. Loneliness wood eat him up from the inside. Likewise, Gunmar missed his son dearly. He was a terrifying warlord tyrant and dark king, but he was still a father that got separated from his child. He killed others before, many many others, and yet he held love for his little one in his stone heart. Bular was his pride and joy and he had not held him in his arms for almost a millennia. 

"I will find a way to free you, no matter what cost. Father, I promise." The vicious prince was weeping. 

"No! Freedom is nothing to me, if you are gone. Your life is a price I'm not willing to pay. Bular, son, look at me." Urged Gunmar with a sharp edge and a little despair in his voice, "we will stand together, side by side. I will keep my promise to stargaze with you again. We will take our lands back and reclaim our place! Stay strong for me, my son." 

Bular growled frustrated after his father ended the spell. As soon as the mirror turned back into a reflective screen, he went down with a huff. Life was not fair in his opinion, and he was still feeling lonely without his father. Then a small, soft hand rubbed through his scruff again and the dark prince felt the ice cold solitude ease into a cool breeze. For a very long time had he believed that he would never find a friend, and now there was a tiny compassionate daredevil of a human on his head. Ever since he was born Bular longed for something like his father had shared with Morgana. Now, he began to hope, that maybe he had found it in Jim.

With a silent oath to their ancestors, Bular vowed to protect this human, and give his best to let their friendship grow into a bond that could rival his father's. The Gumm Gumm prince promised he would rip the stars from the sky, crush every city and end every creature that dared to threaten his dear ones. Jim was his pack mate now, whether he liked it or not. He was a monster and Jim was a mystery. They were both strange, and that meant they had to stick together, and look out for each other. 

And with a final grumble that wasn't as pessimistic as usual, Bular fell asleep. He was careful to put his horns against a wall so that Jim was save from falling or getting rolled over. He never saw the faint shimmer of his father's face smile at him from within the mirror once more, but Jim did. 

"I know you are far from home, little one. I don't mind. No, actually I think you might be the only one who can save this broken world. You're an outsider, a wild card. I can clearly see a warrior's spirit in you. You might be what Morgana hoped for so long ago." Gunmar was careful to keep his voice down so that he wouldn't wake his son up.

With a smirk he made Jim an offer, "I shall keep your secret. In return you keep an eye on Bular for me. Hm? What do you say?"

Clad in moonlight Jim looked every bit the knight he felt like in that moment. He bowed courtly as best as he could without waking Bular up, and looked Gunmar straight into his single eye to show that he wasn't tied down by his fears. They held eye contact for a little longer, then the dark king smiled wickedly. He looked like a child in a candy store, but all the candy was weapon shaped and the cashier was on fire so he didn't need to pay. Jim saw ruthlessness in that icy eye, but also ambition, warmth and hope. 

"I see Angor succeeded in changing the spell. Hm. From you, Jim, I expect great chaos. Change this world and make it better." 

And with that the mirror finally quietened down, and this time for real. The teenager dismissed his armor and laid down on Bular's fluff. It didn't smell that bad this time, so he actually enjoyed his stay. Despite being made of stone, the dark prince was very comfortable. Jim's expectations were thrown out of the window once more. First Draal became his rehearsal partner, then Strickler turned out to be a good mentor, and now the Gumm Gumm king himself was telling him bedtime stories like he was a curious troll whelp. One thing was sure now: Jim absolutely loved story time with Gunmar "The Black". 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes. I indeed think Gunmar and Bular have a warm and loving relationship when nobody is watching. Bular taking in Jim as his new squishy friend is an exception to the "nobody's looking" rule.


	10. Casually Crispy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got two pairings that I adore to no end: Barbara / Strickler and Barbara / Kanjigar. Yes, the second one is weird. I know lol  
> Here is some Barb/Walt, which means that this chapter was a blast to write, and I even included some more foreshadowing for later! Can you spot it?

⩟-⨈-⩟

Bular was the best bed a teenager could ask for. Hence why poor Jim overslept, and to add even more bad news: Jim's phone was on silent so he didn't hear his alarm. Waking the teenager up alone must have been a chore, because how was one going to wake up a human without waking up the troll snoozing on the same cushions? That morning, Strickler looked like he needed an extra strong coffee, as he sat beside Draal and Nomura. Both were having a rather tender morning. However, it took Jim a few seconds to recognize her thanks to her massive bed hair. Afterwards he and Toby bugged the patience out of Strickler to get a free ride to the school.

Having a teacher as supernatural mentor and secret accomplice was honestly nice. It meant that someone was there for him who understood what was going on, and who could cover for him if necessary. Jim was by no means feeling lonely, but he enjoyed having so many new and old friends around. Then he remembered that there was one more, a very special one he needed to talk to.

This exact next school day was the day Claire asked him if he was going to audition for Romeo and Juliet. Jim was burning to join, and being still in love with the girl he said yes immediately. Originally he wanted to be the one to ask her, but Jim was used to this constant adapting by now. It seemed his plans never went the way he wanted them to go. Toby couldn't believe that Jim had talked to his crush like it was nothing. He was not just cheering, he was almost vibrating on the bleachers. 

"Dude, you spoke with Claire! You are my dude, right? Not one of the “you know who”, that swapped places with Jimbo while I wasn't looking?" He teased.

"Who me?" Jim asked, but then decided to play along, "alright. You got me." 

Toby sent him a pretend glare before he poked him in the chest, "nah. It's you. Only Jim Lake could suck at Go Go Sushi this badly. I've watched you play the mobile version on the ride here. Don't deny it." 

Jim let out a groan at the well deserved but still painful jab. He could wield a magical sword, and he was getting the hang of the bow too. So what if he couldn't play a sushi catching game? He was a living breathing knight version of a magical girl. That should be enough to triumph over a happy golden shrimp. While he looked at Toby's shining face he remembered all the nights he and his wingman had played together. Toby without Aaarrrgghh was like butter without toast. It sent a hollow chill over Jim's skin. 

"Guilty as charged. I honorably yield before you, Sushi king. Now hurry up or we'll be late for chemistry." 

"Chemistry. Ha. Haha." Toby laughed while his eyes drifted from Jim to Claire and back. Jim sent him a loop sided grin back.

With that the duo went to walk out of the gym. Jim had to remind himself that this was not the Claire he knew, and that he wasn't her boyfriend yet. It got easier if he focused on her blue streak of hair, since he was used to seeing white instead. However, deep down this was his punk rock shadow sorceress and just being near her made him feel warm and fuzzy. During his time in the darkness, she was his light, not that he would ever tell her something as cheesy as this. Just as he was about halfway through the door he slipped back in and approached his crush once more.

"Hey, I was wondering if you would want to hang out with me and Toby?" He asked. 

However as he did so, Moonlight started to glow a bit. Toby noticed and promptly let his friend know that there was a magical accident happening soon, "Jimbo! Your magic thingus is doing funny things again." 

Toby's whisper was too loud, so Claire heard him talking and she was confused, "magic what now?" 

"Uh oh, my..." Jim stumbled over his words to find a quick excuse, "we play D&D, uh that's ah role-playing. My character has this super cool glowing magic weapon and armor in-game. Toby's totally envious." 

"Am not!" 

Both Jim and Claire sent the ginger a perfectly synchronized flat look. 

"Okay. Maybe a little bit. Hey! Does that mean Claire is going to join our game?" 

Jim shrugged, "if she wants to? If not, then how would ice cream sound?" 

Claire smiled, "sure, why not. Tomorrow after school?" 

Jim nodded and gave her a crispy thumbs up. 

He couldn't believe how smooth he made that sound. He never once stumbled over his words or stuttered. Jim was as cool as a cucumber salad, and if he was lucky then he'd be joined by lady guacamole later. Inwardly Jim was cheering hard enough to make his heart flutter happily. Then Toby started to cheer him on even more which made them both smile like sunshine incarnate. To Jim, this was like a second chance to do everything again, only better. Everyone was nicer to him and the world was great, aside from Kanjigar that was. It was his chance to fix everything and make sure they would not lose so many loved ones this time.

Jim and Toby went to chemistry, then math and finally ended the day with history. Strickler sent them a fond look as they entered the class together. The boys high fived, then went to their seats.

"Today we will dive into a more abstract form of thought. Class, what is war?" The teacher asked, and if one knew what to look for that would see the centuries of experience in his eyes.

Steve raised his hand and confidently answered wrong, "it's fighting with big sharp weapons, duh?" 

Jim snickered at how sour Mr Strickler's face became. It was multiversal that Walt Strickler was a proper gentleman, whenever he wasn't an evil genius that worked for an ancient secret society. Steve was a brute buffoon in comparison. Jim knew he had some redeeming qualities buried deeply under his tough shell, but there just was no cure for being dense. Their teacher looked like he had smelled at a durian fruit, in his troll form. Of course Mr Strickler heard Jim laugh at this. 

"Yes, Mr Lake?" 

Jim jumped only slightly in his seat before he answered, "war is a constant back and forth between two or more factions who think they are in the right, but in all honesty probably aren't." 

Strickler sent him a proud look and nodded. Thankfully Jim remembered a lot of what the changeling taught him shortly before the battle of the eternal night, so answering him was rather easy. The currently human head of the Janus Order stood up even straighter while he played with his favorite fountain pen. A easy smile rested on his lips for the rest of the lesson, but most importantly on his next few sentences. 

"Always remember, the world is not black and white, good or evil. Reality can hardly be seen as simple. No, instead it is a infinite and ever changing mosaic of opinions and views. Every piece interacts with another. They shape each other, and sometimes even destroy another. History is written by the winner, not the loser. Never just settle for one side of a story, and always stay true to yourself."

It burned itself into Jim's heart, mind and soul with such a ferocity that he knew he would dream about it for a week. Something in Strickler's speech resonated with a small part of him. It was a true neutral statement that could be used and interpreted as so many different things, and yet it's core message was the same. Jim felt that it was said mostly for his benefit, and he had a feeling that he would get many more hidden lessons from this point on. History class was now his favorite class. He let his teacher know that he got the message by making eye contact. Then he showed him his Janus ring to say he truly understood. 

The ball signaled the end of the class. Students both stormed and tumbled out until only Jim, Toby and Mr Strickler were left in the room. On a whim Jim decided to invite his teacher for a cup of tea. He remembered how much his mother loved the Strickler from his world. He could imagine that they would make a nice couple in this one as well, especially since this Strickler was much nicer and would not hurt her to get to him. Jim could trust him with his mom, and date he think it he liked the changeling. He honestly enjoyed spending time with him. Jim sent Toby home with a whispered _"check up on Draal for me."_ Then he turned to his teacher.

"I'd like to invite you for a cup of tea, Mr Strickler. You know, since you offered to give me private tutoring? Yeah, and I thought I could introduce you to my mom because I'm sure she'd love to get to know my favorite teacher." 

With a knowing grin, but for the completely wrong reason, Strickler accepted the invitation. He thought Jim was trying to learn more about the magical side of the world, when in reality he completely missed that he had just been set up on a date by his protege. He smoothly packed his bag and followed the young Atlas out of the building. When Toby jumped out of a bush to give them a thumbs up, he was admittedly a bit concerned, but otherwise nothing seemed amiss. Thankfully Jim could keep the stupid grin off his face, and Toby didn't make it easy for him. They just got into Mr Strickler's car when Jim spoke up again.

"A word of advice, switch to your troll form if my mom offers you food. She burns water, no, I'm not joking. Don't worry. I'll be making the tea today." 

_**"Excuse me?"** _

But Jim did not elaborate. However, during the car ride they kept taking about Barbara, and with each word he could see the interest glimmer in Strickler's eyes. Jim tried his best to highlight everything his Strickler loved in his mom, so that this one would fall horns over claws for her before they even met. In the end, the changeling was eager enough to meet this mystical being with red hair and a fire so strong it can rival the Valkyries, he forgot to lock his car and stumbled twice. Much to Jim's amusement, a lovestruck Strickler was just a giant puppy. 

They went in with Jim's key and found Barbara in the living room. She was wearing casual clothes for once, and had a historical novel in her hands. A green blanket was draped over her shoulders more to cuddle with, than to keep her warm, and Jim immediately thought of Stricklander's wings When he saw it. When she spotted her son and a man she didn't know yet enter, Barbara immediately stood up to greet them. 

"Oh! Hello. I'm Dr Lake, and you are?" 

"Walt Strickler. I'm Jim's history teacher. It is... a honest pleasure to meet you." 

"I see. Call me Barbara then. Jim told me a lot about you already." She replied with a genuine smile. 

That was infectious, because Strickler replied with his own smile, "Then I insist you call me Walt. I hope the young Atlas said only good things?" 

"Mostly. Then again, I would like to get to know you before I judge you. Have a seat I'll be right back with some tea." 

Jim stopped her before she could even turn around, "I'm on it already, mom. You two just, sit and talk. I'll be right back." 

The teenager disappeared into the kitchen to make the promised tea. It was a sweet Earl Grey with just enough lemon to make it special. Jim knew both looked this particular one a lot, and would probably bond over it. After that he would let Cupid handle this for him. There was really no need for him to hang around with this going on, and they deserved some privacy. Jim let Toby knew he was going to come over in 20 minutes. Then he made it 10 when he heard his mother giggle like a school girl. He was absolutely not going to stick around with that going on in the living room.

Just before he could rush out of the door Mr Strickler held him back for a moment. He used the short opportunity when Barbara went to the kitchen for napkins to tell his young Atlas one more thing. 

"I know you want to go out there again, but you are not ready yet."

"I..." Jim wanted to say he could handle it, but then changed his mind. "I promise. I will be careful." 

"Careful is not enough. Jim, I will tell you a secret but you have to swear not to tell Draal about this. Give me your word." 

Jim hesitated, but gave in. He made a solemn oath to keep quiet.

"Kanjigar was careful too. Jim, Merlin didn't take over. The trollhunter isn't mind controlled, but we couldn't find the strength to tell Draal about this. When Kanjigar was appointed as trollhunter, he was shown nightmares about the future every time he closed his eyes. Visions of the death of his loved ones plagued him until he broke and swore complete submissive loyalty to Merlin. He became the wizard's puppet, and in return Merlin promised his loved ones would be safe. He stopped being Kanjigar on that day." 

After that revelation, Jim's head felt like it was going to explode. He was never close to his predecessor, but he was once very close to Draal. He felt sad for his brother in everything but blood. Now he understood why his mentor was so reluctant to let him go out so late. However, after that confession Jim definitely needed to get out and clear his head.

"I'm going to make sure the trollhunter won't find or follow me." 

The tone he spoke in was both serious and determined enough to ease some of Strickler's worries. The changeling didn't seem sure, but somehow something told him to trust his human student. It could have been the confidence in his pose, or the sharpness of his eyes. Whatever it was, it made the mentor relent, albeit reluctantly. He nodded, then let him go. Jim was out of the door in seconds while Strickler went back in to get to know Barbara.


	11. Split

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Early chapter posting? Yep. Today's my birthday so I'll be busy for the rest of the week, which means you get this ahead of schedule. :D

⩟-⨈-⩟

Strickler's words still haunted Jim, even though it was still bright outside. He quickly crossed the street to get to Toby, Draal and Bular without being seen by anyone. Jim found the three in his best friend's backyard, right when the two trolls were having a small horn bumping contest. Much to Jim's surprise, Toby was cheering for Draal while Bular was left on his own. A sudden current of realization ran through him when he noticed how close Toby and Draal have become over these past few days. Of course they spent some time together while Jim was with either Strickler or Bular. However, it looked like Draal was becoming Toby's wingman now. They even shared Nougat Nummies together: Toby got the candy, Draal the wrappers. 

_Deya be with me, the house won't survive them. But, I'm glad they became friends. I still wonder what Aaarrrgghh is doing though... If he's not here then that means he's with Trollmarket, and that means he's the enemy. I really hope he's a pacifist in this universe as well._

"Hey! Jimbo! Stop staring holes into the air and help me cheer." 

The two broke up and went to greet Jim. Bular even used a claw to mess up the teenager's hair until he looked even more wild that troll-Jim. That was quickly fixed again, but it broke the ice nicely. 

Bular insisted on training Jim in combat so that he could protect himself. Of course Toby was invited to train with them, but he went on to bug Draal about his battle ax. Said ax was a shining example of perfectly crafted steel, and by the looks of it the weapon has seen many great battles before. It drew in Toby like a moth was drawn to a candle flame, and Jim knew it was only a matter of time until the bug was burnt by it, but he was sure that Draal wouldn't let that happen. The monger was a great teacher, and a careful instructor. While not gentle, Draal made sure that they weren't in any danger during training. He knew what restraint was. Jim trusted him with his best friend's well-being.

Meanwhile Bular was already ready for a sparring match. He swung both of his swords like they were helicopter blades, cutting down Nana Domzalski's hedge like it was butter, not that she'd ever notice that. Jim shot him a uneasy look of disbelief before he got ready to brawl with only his fists. Moonlight was a bow, and as much as Jim loved to test the limits of his new weapon, he wished desperately to have a sword. A sword was familiar. He could wield one, and by the looks of it he needed one. Bular got ready to jump at him, his teeth shone in a wicked grin. Jim remembered why he was named "The Vicious". 

"Rule number one: don't fear your opponent. Never let fear paralyze you. Never let it hold you back. Fear may keep you alert, but only true awareness saves you. Rush into battle with excitement and soak up every detail around you with glee, and not fear." 

Jim dodged one of Bular's swords by rolling to the left. The other sword narrowly missed his shoulder, making dust fly up in a pretty little cloud.

"Rule number two: you decide how a battle ends. A battle is a clash of willpower. When you fight, you not only fight your opponent's weapon, but also their will. No battle is destined to go a certain way." 

Jim was confused. He was sure that troll hunting rule number two would be the same as the second Gumm Gumm rule. He could not wrap his head around the fact that there was an open chance, an invitation even, for him to show mercy. The human doubted that many Gumm Gumms would actually show their enemies mercy, but the chance existed. That alone made a pleasant warmth run through him. Now he only had to get Bular to show Nancy's lawn ornaments some mercy or else they had a problem.

"Lastly, rule number three-" 

"Kick them in the gronk nuks." Jim answered on impulse. 

That earned him a snort and howling laughter from Bular. The dark prince even leaned back so much that he fell over. The two got funny looks from Draal and Toby, who had stopped their own sparring session to gawk like a pair of goldfish. Snot and spit covered Bular's face as he slowly regained his composure. 

"You overheard the changelings in the arena. _How cute."_ Bular teased with an amused spark in his eyes. "Correct. If in doubt: always kick your opponent in the gronk nuks." 

Then he crouched down again, seconds before he threw his left blade into the ground before Jim's feet. Dirt and grass flew up, right towards the human, who dodged it by jumping backwards. In response to the apparent danger the Moonlight amulet lit up and sent a magical command through his armor. For a brief moment when time seemed to slow down, Jim was wondering when he had gotten so used to wearing armor that he didn't even notice wearing it until now, but that moment was short lived. Bular came at him again, this time from his right. Now Jim really wished he had his sword. The bow was amazing, but he was used to close combat, not archery.

Suddenly said bow appeared, only to break apart in the middle with a clear bell like *bling*. A soft white fog his the weapon for a moment, and when Jim opened his eyes again he was holding twin swords.

They weren't his beloved Daylight, and neither were they his glaives, but Jim was not going to complain. If the bow of Moonlight was his ranged weapon, then these dual blades were his close combat weapons. Just like Daylight had its glaives, Moonlight had it's twin falchion. Both had a slightly irregular form and were curved at the end. They had a single edge, that ended in a mean looking point. Each blade was as long as Jim's arm and they had almost the same visual design as Daylight, just in fashionable moonshine grey. 

He looked up at Bular, who was studying him with a wicked grin on his face. Red eyes, ablaze like a volcano, lit up with pure childish excited glee. Then he proceeded to show off his own twin blades again, and Jim understood exactly what was going on.

"Let me teach you how to be absolutely deadly with these." The dark prince purred. 

From the other end of the yard they could hear Draal complain, "Hey that's my moniker! Get your own!" 

It devolved into an argument turned mud fight between Toby and Draal, who were heatedly debating on which moniker suited Jim the best. Bular ignored them, while Jim tried his best to do so too. He couldn't believe that Toby was throwing mud at Draal. He would need to get the garden hose if this went on because he would not want to clean Nana's carpet at midnight. Him getting sword lessons from Bular was surprisingly not bothering him at all, and it looked like he was exceeding the prince's expectations. Both didn't need to dwell on the basics for too long, thanks to Jim's training with Daylight and Eclipse. When it was time to split up and go home Jim was confidently dancing around Bular with two swords, only to have Draal sneak up on him from behind. How a giant piece of slobbering rock could be this quiet was beyond the teenager. Toby found it highly amusing though.

Jim's ego took a hit, but in turn his heart lit up. He honestly missed these carefree and happy little moments, and he would treasure this one forever. 

He bid his farewell, used some of Nomura's perfume, and then jogged across the street as fast as he could without looking suspicious. There was a slight chance that Kanjigar was waiting for him underneath the street. The sewers always made him uneasy. Having a crazy troll lurking there was reason enough for him to hurry up to get home. He immediately rushed up to his room, not caring about what his mom or teacher were doing. He was just glad to be home where he felt safe and sound. Instinctively he texted for the walky-talky he used to reach Toby past their bedtime, only to find out that it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Disappointed he realized that he never got it out of the garage. With him not being the trollhunter in this universe, they never established that connection.

That left Jim to think about his position and title. The trollhunter was evil, or rather so far gone that there was little hope left for him to ever heal. If he wasn't a trollhunter, then what was he? Daylight was a hunter, and protector. It was a paladin of light and hope. Or at least it was supposed to be. Eclipse was a dark predator, forged to kill anything in it's path, especially Gunmar. It was a doom bringer. Now, he had neither of those. Instead, Moonlight was his to command. Jim was left with no choice. He had to use Google to search for anything that might help him. 

As he was casually browsing through images of fantasy bows he saw Toby and Draal wave from Toby's window. The lights were on, making them both stand out like shadows in the sun. Toby was his usual energetic self, while Draal kept him in check. The usually serious warrior balanced the chubby teenager out nicely and it drew a smile on Jim's face. He didn't need to worry about Toby not meeting Aaarrrgghh. His best friend had been blessed with the ability to befriend anything and everything. 

He waved back, then stopped to cringe when he saw Draal wreck the old dollhouse that Toby had inherited from his Nana. Poor gnome Chompski wouldn't get to move into that home any time soon. 

"What now?" He asked himself. 

Part of him was happy in this new world, but another part of him desperately wanted to go home. He missed many things, Blinky and Claire being the top two on his list. However, this universe was easier. It was like he had been brought back to an easier time, and his hero complex wouldn't let him break his promise to Gunmar. For now he would stay and watch. He imagined himself as some sort of night watch, only with armor. Then he laughed and shook his head to chase away the stupid thoughts.

"Who cares about a stupid title anyway?" 

Jim went to shut down his laptop, but hesitated when he saw a picture of Morgana. It was an old drawing from some book, but it caught his interest. He wasn't sleepy at all anyway. His sleeping schedule got wrecked months ago by his trollhunter training and missions. While the night was still young he could put it to good use. In only ten minutes Jim had opened up over 40 tabs in his browser and was skimming over articles on Wikipedia. He was researching like a proper high school student again and after getting turned into a troll and back, he was excited to do this. Then there was a knock on his door.

"Jim? Honey it's getting late." Barbara stood in the doorway, wearing her scrubs and a fond smile. 

Jim had missed her so much. 

He replied, "Just doing some school work I forgot. I won't stay up too late, mom. Promise." 

She went in to hug him. When she ruffled his hair she made strands of it stick up like miniature horns, just for fun. Then she brushed them back down and put her hand on his cheek. Her eyes, the deepest blue imaginable, were full of love and care. She looked like she regretted leaving him, but at the same time Jim knew she was proud of him. 

"You're awesome." He accidentally spoke his thoughts out loud. 

"I love you too, kiddo. See you tomorrow then." Barbara said with tears in her eyes. 

Jim knew these were born from happiness and not sadness, and it made his heart warm to know that he made her this happy. She kissed her son on the head and quickly rushed to her car before she was late for work. As she pulled out of the driveway, Jim himself got ready for bed. He changed into his pyjamas, brushed his teeth and finally shut down his laptop for good. He only took his phone with him to read a little more to make himself sleepy. It was only a few minutes shy of midnight, which was a huge improvement for him already. Jim still had a Trollish sleeping rhythm, so falling sleep at night was hard for him. Usually pictures of Vespas did the trick, and they let him dream wonderful dreams of driving into the sunset. 

It took a bit longer, but eventually he fell into a light sleep. However, if he had stayed up just a little bit longer then he would have seen two golden eyes light up outside of his house. 


	12. Sharing Is Caring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you're all probably getting tired with how slow this is going, but believe me it's necessary. Next chapter comes some more world building, and then I can finally start with the action. Yesss~!!

⩟-⨈-⩟

While Jim slept a certain troll was lurking around his house. Strong golden eyes searched for weak spots and hiding places, making sure to memorize every small dent and crack of the home. The troll glanced up grim under his brows to look at the human dwelling with curiosity and distrust. Then he crept towards the backdoor. Locked. He let out a grunt, but brightened up when he saw the garage. With a mighty swing upwards he made it onto the roof. It creaked under his weight, but held him. From that point on he could climb to the windows to knock. 

"Jim! I need to speak with you." 

The human woke up with a scream, fell out of his bed and crashed down onto the floor. He gallantly fought his own pillow for a bit until he was awake enough to think more clearly. Draal offered him a very amused look that showed he was not sorry at all. Not even a little bit. However there was fear in his eyes as well. Something unnerved the veteran warrior.

"How did you even get up here...?" 

A sudden creak heralded a loud crack as the house gave up and Draal fell down. He took a few wooden panels with him, but the damage was small enough to blame it on the raccoons. Jim immediately worried about Draal's still healing cracks. With all the agility he could muster up at 3 in the morning, he sprinted down to check on him. Thankfully he had not opened any of them, but he was stuck. Draal "The Deadly" was stuck in the ground and couldn't get up, like a turtle on it's shell. He was helpless and it almost felt like the shrubs around them were laughing at his predicament. After this glorious stunt his crystalline spikes were burrowed into the dirt. He got stuck when he hit the ground and it was up to Jim to get the troll back onto his feet somehow. 

"Somehow" turned out to be a rope, a tree and Moonlight, in exactly this order. It didn't take long for the human to pull the few metric tons of troll out of his misery. 

"This better be important. What happened to make you do something like that? You could have hurt yourself! Or someone could have seen you! Or, or something else!" Jim fretted sternly. He immediately ushered the troll into the basement before anything else could happen.

"I needed to speak with you. There is something I need to ask, and it can not wait a single night more." 

"Alright." Agitation made room for concern and attentiveness, "tell me, what's bothering you?" 

Draal hesitated now that he had the chance to speak up. It both worried and infuriated Jim to no end. Eventually he went inside to make himself a cup of coffee while Draal still tried to find the right words. He was not a troll of many words indeed, but he tried and Jim couldn't find it in his heart to stay mad at him. It was white obvious that Draal was agitated for some reason, and unlike his predecessor, Jim would listen and care about his personal problems. He sat down with his legs tucked under his head and arms. He was basically hugging himself, while he kept looking at Draal from time to time.

"Here, listen. You can talk to me about anything. I won't judge, or be mad. Just, don't make this awkward, alright?" 

That was the invitation and push Draal needed to talk, and taking he did. It was like a dam had broken and now a massive amount of fresh fear streamed out of the brave warrior. The way he looked at Jim spoke of much dread and fear, something Jim thought he would never see on Draal ever. The expression opened a deep dark pit inside Jim's stomach that made him physically feel sick. This sheer massive amount of dread felt like someone had never him swallow a bag of ice cubes, and now they froze his blood solid from the inside out. Jim actually flinched when Draal finally told him what was on his mind.

"I need to know if you see anything in your sleep. I must seem pathetic to you, but I have to know. Tell me, fleshbag, do you dream of death and misery?" 

Jim knew from Bular and Strickler that this was how Kanjigar lost it. Dreams were the first stage, then came visions, and finally a loss of control followed. Of course Draal would be worried about this potentially happening now that Jim had the Moonlight amulet. He felt a tad bit stupid for just assuming that the troll would be okay with seeing a magical pocket watch that closely resembled the thing that took away his father. 

"I'll be honest with you." Jim started and sat down close enough to lean on Draal's arm, "sometimes I do. It got really bad a while ago because of something that happened, but I've got friends to help me. I've got my mom, Toby, you, Nomura, Bular, and Strickler." 

At that Draal perked up in surprise. His eyes widened and his nose ring rattled like a bag of old silverware.

"If it gets worse I'll let you know. Warrior's promise. Can I count on you?" 

Jim intentionally tried to give Draal this responsibility. He didn't need a babysitter anymore, but he knew Draal meant well, and letting him be his personal guardian would ease the troll's mind. Draal was a born protector and he was good at it, in Jim's opinion. He still remembered how proud he felt when Draal, Aaarrrgghh and Toby crashed into the museum to save Blinky. It wouldn't happen in this universe, but Jim was sure he would make great memories with this Draal too. 

"I owe you my life-" 

Jim cut him off immediately, "Nope. Not doing this again. You saved me first, we are even, get that into your stubborn head." 

To make his point clear Jim lightly knocked Draal on the nose. The troll, so much larger than him, sneezed because of it. He laughed for a moment, but cosmic justice caught up with the teen as he leaned back down, and promptly put this hand into troll snot. 

"Eww!" 

"Jim! Quickly! You have to drool on it and complete the ritual." There was urgency in Draal's voice that made Jim scramble up to follow his order without a second thought. Only when Draal started to bark out hysterical laughter did the human stop. 

"You... you! Draal! I can't believe you did this!" He yelled, but with a huge grin on his face. Jim honestly didn't expect to be pranked by the ever so serious monger troll. 

"Ha! You should have seen your face." 

Jim couldn't help himself, he hugged the stuffing out of Draal. When the troll leaned in himself he had to fight with some tears. They ended up in the basement again, buried under blankets and cushions. That night Draal earned himself a new name. 

"Remember how you and Toby talked about my moniker?" 

"Yes. It ended in a muddy inconclusive." 

"I have a new one for you." 

Draal grunted with interest. He put his hands around Jim as he laid down beside him, or rather curled around him protectively. Draal was like a huge tent for Jim. It only confirmed his thoughts and made saying the new nickname out loud more right.

"Draal "The Dreamcatcher". What do you say?" Silence. 

Draal didn't answer him for a while and it worried him. Jim cracked open a tired eye to see if he had maybe fallen asleep, but no. Draal was wide awake and staring at the flames in the furnace. His expression was unreadable, but he didn't give off any bad vibes. 

"Draal?" 

He cranked his head around to head-bump Jim, "Don't make this awkward, fleshbag." 

Jim knocked his forehead against Draal's with much brotherly love. 

Instead of dragging this conversation about deep feelings on, his guardian just curled up tighter around him. Draal became a living shield, and he was hell-bent on keeping Jim safe. Be it from his own father or from the Moonlight amulet, Draal swore a silent oath to make sure that Jim would not end like his father. Merlin was never going to get this human for as long as he lived. They let the late summer cicadas lull them to sleep while the faint starlight from the small window was their nightlight. The furnace kept them warm and comfy while they dreamt peaceful and happy dreams.

* * *

They both didn't notice the shadow outside of the house, watching them with wide eyes. Blissfully unaware of the present danger, the young heroes slept like stones in a gentle creek. The sight was heartwarming and wholesome in its innocence. It was pure enough to make the trollhunter that was crouched outside falter. Daylight lost its fierce glow when Kanjigar calmed down. The sword's tip was now only barely scratching the glass from the outside, instead of melting it in blue magical energy. 

Watching his beloved son sleep this peacefully made his broken heart beat warmly one more time. He couldn't do it. In that moment he wasn't the trollhunter, he was a father, and he had not seen Draal like this since he was a tiny blue pebble in his arms. This was his whelp, his pride and joy, and Kanjigar couldn't believe what he has done to him. Every cut, dent and crack on his child's skin made Kanjigar's blood run ice cold through his veins. He has dreaded to ever see this image, Draal injured so much he was close to death, but now he was the one responsible. It was his fault. His child's blood was on his hands and it drove tears into his eyes.

"How could I harm you, my son?" He sighed very faintly and full of guilt. Trolls almost never cried, but Kanjigar couldn't explain how droplets ended up on his face without rainfall. 

However the moment of regret was only short lived. Soon enough Kanjigar steeled his expression once more and disappeared into the forest behind the house. He would come back for the human and deliver justice when he was not hiding behind his son. It was his duty to protect both worlds by keeping them apart, and Draal would see this sooner or later. Kanjigar would get his son to join him, and see the truth. 

* * *

Immediately after the trollhunter left, Moonlight started to humm and light up. It's usual crescent moon filled out into a full one while the clockwork inside rattled. The clocks arms finally stopped at exactly 12 o'clock midnight, and Jim was ripped from his dreams by someone who needed to speak with him very urgently. 

His mental self found himself floating through an endless foggy cloud. There was nothing around him for a moment, until a solid stone floor appeared below and a thousand stars around him. It looked like the void, and yet it wasn't. Jim instinctively knew that he wasn't with the other trollhunters. 

"Good thinking, skinny legs. You're not with Merlin's pets, but with me." 

Jim whipped around to face the direction where the voice came from. There before him two violet eyes shimmered in the semi darkness. They twinkled at him mischievously. 

"Who are you?" 

A troll wearing the Moonlight armor approached him. Her blonde hair framed her oval face and made her eyes look sharper. Her skin was green and Jim recognized her as a gunner troll, which was unusual to see in America since they were native to Europe. He felt like he knew her from somewhere, but the memory kept evading him. Not wanting to be rude Jim waved in what he hoped was a friendly manner. She looked at him fondly.

"The name's Deya. Always has been, but in the real world call me Callista. It's for your own good, kid. Many a troll would slice and dice you for talking with me." 

Deya spun right around herself and lifted her hands above her head, "I welcome you to my own little piece of eternity. This is the inside of the Moonlight amulet, and I'm your new magic teacher. Every trollhunter before you was taught a basic understanding of the arcane arts. You won't get out of this any longer, Jim."

"I- you- and- what?!" 

"Words, kid. Use them, don't snort them. You're the first true ranger and I'd hate to lose you to your own spit." Deya teased him with a grin.

However, even in his confused state Jim noticed something she said, "ranger?" 

"Well, yes. Nightranger is what Angor called the job, long before you even existed. It's like the title of trollhunter, just with less Merlin and more freedom. You already figured out that Daylight is a hunter, and Eclipse is a predator. Well, Moonlight is a ranger. A watcher in the night that is neither this, not that. You are a guardian who protects everyone in need without prejudice. For as long as you hold Moonlight, you are a champion of good, but without all the snobby righteous crap the knights always spew out." 

All Jim could do was nod and listen. He still half believed this to be a dream, and he desperately wanted it to be, but the teen had to admit that talking to the Deya "The Deliverer" was awesome. It was humbling in a way, and absolutely not what he had expected. From Blinky's stories he had thought she would have been more elegant and sophisticated, but this troll was a spitfire. Jim could fully understand why Gunmar liked her. They had a similar spirit in their souls.

"Now, enough chit chat! You and Draal wasted enough time already and the night is only so long. Let's start with something easy..." 

"I have a bad feeling about this." Jim wanted to run and hide when he saw Deya's smirk.

"Kid, you have no idea how much fun we are going to have together. Now copy my moves and you'll be one step closer to assembling that team of heroes you're meant to lead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A yay for the ghost mentor!  
> A maybe for a Kanjigar redemption arc?


	13. Bular's Big Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The original file for this chapter got corrupted when I saved it wrong. . . so I had to rewrite it from memory and wow. That's harder than actually writing it for the first time.

⩟-⨈-⩟

The next day was mostly uneventful until school was over. Draal had gone home to Nomura before sunrise, but before he left he actually had the courtesy to bring Jim to his room and put him on his bed. How the drywall survived it, the human had no idea. Toby was excitedly chatting with Eli about the "monsters" in the canals while Jim kept half an ear open in case he needed to do damage control. Of course he didn't like it, but he would cover the truth like a changeling if necessary. So far trolls were still a well kept secret in Arcadia. The last thing he needed was a scared bunch of people with shotguns, torches and the occasional but not required baseball bat. He could easily imagine coach Lawrence as one of the people who actually brought one of these. Not that that would do much against Bular or Draal.

Jim bathed in the late summer sun. It was slowly getting colder as fall approached them, so Jim enjoyed the summer warmth for as long as he could. Arcadia oaks never got too cold, and snow was a mystical strange thing to them, but he was still glad to have his jacket. His birthday was soon as well, and even if he still loathed it, Jim didn't hate it that much this year. He knew that he would celebrate with the entire team. Although, he did disapprove of Toby's plan to get Draal to help him bake a cake. He silently hoped that "Mr Deadly" would eat the mixer before they could make Nana's kitchen explode. Jim laughed to himself at the mental image.

After school Toby went to Nomura to get some more hammer training done. Draal indeed got him a very nice crystal hammer that looked just like his Trollish one, except that it had changeling proportions and Toby could actually lift it. He was making steady progress by training diligently with both Draal and Nomura. Apparently the couple was a perfectly balanced match on the battlefield. Thankfully Toby took to the hammer like a bird too to the sky, or a mole to the earth. From what he's been told, the weapon could be enchanted as well, and Jim was tempted to get the anti gravity upgrade for his best friend. 

When Jim entered his own home he noticed two things: the first was, that his mother wasn't home. The second thing was the smell of wet troll. It came from upstairs, so Jim carefully crept up to see who was in his house. Bular, who somehow squeezed into the bathroom upstairs, sat on the fluffy and soaked carpet while he was drinking from the bathtub. 

"You know, I think we've got some buckets for you to drink out of." 

Bular twisted his head around to look at the teenager in the doorway. It wasn't easy and his horns got caught in the shower curtain. Untangling them was a mess, but fortunately nothing broke.

"You are back, Jim." 

"School's out. I'm home. Hi, Bular." Jim had to keep his sentences short or else he would burst out laughing at the face of his surprise guest. It suddenly got very difficult to be scared of him.

"I was waiting for you. There is something I want to test out and I need you and your amulet for it." 

He lumbered down to the kitchen so that they could talk better. Jim let the water out of the tub before he followed. Thankfully Bular didn't have as much fur as Aaarrrgghh or else he would have to unclog the drain and pipes again. When Jim arrived Bular was already leaning on the kitchen counter, much like Draal would do. 

"So... What's going on?" Jim asked.

"We're going out on a little mission. You see, to enter Trollmarket one needs a special key. The horngazel is a piece of the heartstone, carved and enchanted to create portals to and from Vendel's territory. Alternatively, the trollhunter can use Daylight to open the gateway as well." 

Jim didn't know that bit of information. Then again, he admitted to himself that there was a lot he didn't know his amulet could do. 

_I would be so dangerous, if I actually knew what I was doing most of the time..._

"Strickler theorized that Moonlight has the same ability. We are going on a small trip to the outer canals to test his theory." 

His curiosity piqued, Jim summoned his new armor and nodded. Somehow he ended up on Bular's head yet again, but he didn't mind. With how often that was happening lately he already had figured out where to put his feet to get the most secure grip. He also noticed that if he tugged at the scruff just above Bular's ear the troll would unconsciously move into that direction, which meant Jim knew how to steer him. He learned how to ride a troll before he even started with car driving lessons. This was his life now. 

Together they raced through the sewers until they reached the last pillar of the floodwater canals. It was far enough away from the bridge to make sure nobody would notice them, but close enough to open a gateway, if that was possible with Moonlight at all. Bular did his best to stay in the shade so he sent Jim out to check for anything or anyone that could see them. Kanjigar was known to hide everywhere and jump onto his unsuspecting prey, executing his signature move the "creeping spider". Bular didn't want to jinx their luck, it was obvious by his grim face. 

"All clear! We can try now." 

Bular scratched a circle of six Trollish runes into the ground that Jim recognized as the same ones on the handle of the horngazel. Then he pointed to their center and asked Jim to shoot an arrow into it. They both unfortunately forgot that the runes were supposed to be drawn on a wall, and that any experiments should be done from a safe distance. They didn't even realize the gateway portal opened up under them until they had fallen through it already. 

Thankfully the prince of the Gumm Gumms managed to catch his human friend before they hit the ground of a cavern. When the dust had settled, and they opened their eyes again they saw the brightly lit neon signs of trollmarket's shopping avenue. Bular sunk back into the shadows with many curses in at least four languages. They needed to disappear, or hide before the guards found them. The though of hiding however made Jim remember something. He just had to get his hands on one of these somethings.

Jim then spoke up, "I have an idea, but I need you to trust me. I'll be right back. You, just stay hidden and wait for me. Okay? Don't let anyone see you." 

Thankfully not many trolls cared about him as he passed through. Jim had summoned his helmet and visor so that nobody could see his human face. Unfortunately for him, the horns on top of it were bent upwards, instead of the spiral backwards that he was used to. He stumbled around quite a bit and a lot of trolls laughed at his poor coordination. He was mistaken for a whelp who stole his father's gear, but Jim didn't mind. It was a great cover story for him. 

Then he found it. The wooden mask in his hand made a lot of weight drop from his shoulders, and Vendel didn't even notice it was gone. That was an absolute win in Jim's book. He quickly made his way back to the small crack in the wall where he left Bular. Jim tapped on his mask while he climbed very some random rocks on the ground. He only let said mask snap open when he was sure that nobody but Bular was with him.

"Jim! What did you-?! Oh. Oh! Yes, that could work." 

Bular put the mask on and his appearance quickly changed to something more mundane. His horns curled into tight buns and his scruff became a handsome shade of dark red. He went completely undercover, then flashed Jim a smirk.

"You're welcome." Jim casually mentioned when Bular started to walk away without him.

Jim let Moonlight cover him and his face again while he jogged to catch up with Bular. Together they casually strolled around, like they were supposed to be there. It was surprisingly easy to feel comfortable in the familiar crowd of trolls. Jim hadn't known he missed the busy market so much until now. The neon signs, the grunts and the smell of glug made the teen smile behind his mask. Then Jim shot a glance at the disguised Bular, and got a smile in return. The dark prince was enjoying their evening stroll through enemy territory.

However, their fun ended when a troll named Krax approached him. He recognized Jim, but he didn't recognize Bular so he was careful with how he worded things. They were just about to leave the main market so that Jim could open another gateway when a patrol stopped them. Leading the squad was the one troll Jim thought couldn't get more ridiculously pathetic. However, this universe loved to prove him wrong.

"Dictatious. How may we help you?" Asked Krax sourly. 

"Those two, who are they? Where did they come from?" 

"Well, you see-" Bular cut Krax off.

"I am Balur, and this is my younger brother Jalur. We were brought here by the trollhunter. I wish to become a smith, while my brother aspires to become a sentinel one day. Once he's old enough that is." 

Krax recognized the voice, while Jim almost didn't believe the words spoken. Both of them were shocked enough to chocke on their own drool, but thankfully nobody noticed. The emergency lie however seemed to work because Dictatious groaned and turned around. He dismissed them with a wave of his hand, leaving Bular to grin at how easy this was. He was no doubt laughing at trollmarket's pitiful security in that moment.

"Let's get out of here, I've seen enough. Are you coming... _little brother?"_

After a moment of hesitation, Jim followed him. He wasn't sure how serious Bular was, and he couldn't get his hopes up, but it felt good to be liked. Jim hated to be alone. Ever since his father left he hated it. Then he was stuck in the darklands and it got worse. Finally, Jim reached his breaking point when Merlin ripped him from his life. He'd cling to any bit of family he could get his hands on no matter their size, species or sleeping habits. He ran after the troll with a playful spring in his step that made the lady trolls coo at them, and bumped the little fake horns he had into Bular's arm.

"So... brothers, huh?"

Bular grunted in reply. Jim could see there was less annoyance and more hesitant fondness in it than usual. That made him pressure him for a real answer.

"Do you mean it?" He asked quietly, so that nobody else would listen in on them, "do you? Because I really wouldn't mind. You're kind of badass."

That finally got a reply from the big bad price of darkness, "Perhaps." 

As the duo reached the caves on the far outskirts of the hidden city they shared a look, then burst out laughing. Bular took off the glamour mask that Jim had stolen for him to reveal his usual face, and a very proud expression. He drew the six runes again, this time on a wall and waited for Jim to join him, but Jim had other plans. The teen pulled out his phone in a moment of adrenaline filled mischief and took a selfie with the Gumm Gumm prince. He made sure that Trollmarket was clearly visible in the background before he sent it to Strickler's private number. Then he quickly muted his phone and opened the magical archway. 

"You look like you brought horrible, slow, painful and thoroughly-calculated _chaos_ tonight. Pray tell, what did you do?" Bular purred with a grin.

Jim joined him with a sharp laugh before he climbed on Bular's head once more. At this point he might as well be called trollrider. 

"How about I tell you while we go for a run?" 

"Nice try, little one. We shall run, but you speak now. Tell me who's day you ruined." 

"Okay. Fine, you win." Jim paused to let Bular snort proudly, "I sent a picture of us two gallivanting around Trollmarket to Strickler, with no further comment. Now I'm ignoring him, just for fun." 

Which was a lie. Jim just wanted to see how far he could push Strickler and get away with it in case he needed to disobey his orders for some reason, but he couldn't deny that he was having fun while doing so. Bular seemed highly amused as well. The obsidian troll was huffing and puffing with a barely contained something that could maybe be considered as laughter by some scary creepers. To Jim's ears he sounded like a saxophone that clogged up a sewage pipe.

"You have potential to become the first human Gumm Gumm, little one. Well done. Now, let's take the long way home. I know a nice huge mud puddle right beside the old dump where we can waste time and get dirty enough to ruin Stricklander's carpet." 

"I'll pass on the mud, thank yo- _uuuu!"_

Jim had to hold on for dear life as Bular started to race into the night. He knew that he was irresponsible, but for the first time in his life he didn't feel guilty. He just wanted to live, to have fun and be free. Jim blamed it on Bular, calling him a bad influence for about five minutes before he cried with joy at how fast they were going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed some nasty errors and mistakes | sep. 29. 2020


	14. The Trip To Wonderland

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I present to you: some more world-building, classic badass Nomura and a few hidden secrets for later. Also, Jim's lost a few of his brain cells on his ride with Bular so he's going to do dumb things again.

⩟-⨈-⩟

Jim made it home in one piece, and without his mother noticing anything. It was terrifying how quiet Bular could be, if he wanted to that is, and Jim was glad for this. Once the teenager was in his room he dismissed his armor, changed into a simple shirt and went to bed without pants. He was by far too tired to put some on and nobody would mind if he slept in his underwear. However, he still hid his socks to make sure no trolls would eat them. It was a habit he had not been able to get rid of. He fell asleep only a few minutes later.

Every night, instead of dealing with weird dreams or nightmares, Jim found his mental self with Deya. She taught him what she could, but they were honest with each other: Jim was no wizard. He just lacked the spark necessary to have magic. Mana, as Deya called it. Apparently beings could either be born with it, or absorb it later on, but only if they had an aptitude for it. Now that he actually had time to learn, it wasn't that hard. He still wasn't as quick to memorize things as Claire.

Deya also started to grow very fond of her human protege. She told Jim stories about her life before she got the amulet, and after she was chosen. Soon enough Jim stopped being the human trollhunter, and just became Jim, the skinny legs. Still, he fought with more honor and courage than most trolls that she knew. However, Jim was as magically inclined as a rock, so Deya taught him Trollish rituals and rune magic.

In her words: "if you want to be a rock, then I'll teach you how to do magic like one of us." after that they would sometimes talk about things. Deya was a great listener, but her advice was what Jim valued more. Her constant teasing also grew on him after the first half of the week.

"Just wait until you see a real sorcerer or sorceress." She had said, and with a heavy heart Jim immediately thought of his Claire and Morgana.

A week later Nomura was waiting for Jim and Toby at the front gate of the school. He face was grim, and her slanted eyes glanced around as if she expected an attack at any second. Both boys immediately sobered up and went with her to her car. Once inside the car the professional assassin briefed them on the newest catastrophe.

"Trollmarket got their hands on a fetch, that is a small portal to the darklands, Toby." 

The ginger slowly lowered his arm and put both hands on his legs.

"Dictatious put a bug on Bular and they managed to follow him to one of our outposts. Vendel and his soldiers sent someone through it and into the darklands to kill Gunmar. We have to hurry and get our own fetch so that Bular, Strickler and the Janus Order can come up with a plan. Buckle up you two, we're going to ignore some traffic laws. Little Gynt, watch your friend. If he barfs in my car, you'll clean it up." 

As soon as she said that, Nomura floored the gas pedal and rushed through the heavy downtown afternoon traffic. A quick call to another changeling made the police sirens behind them go silent, which made Jim squeak and Toby squeal. She held her speed, even going faster once they reached the outskirts of the city. Ms Nomura drove easily through the thick oak forest that surrounded Arcadia at comfortable 90 mph. Jim tried to class himself into the seat while Toby looked a little green behind his ears, but they survived. The car ride was only marginally better than taking a gyre somewhere, and Jim assumed that his past experiences with the gyres was what saved him from getting car sick. It took them roughly twenty minutes to reach their destination, which was a small children's hospital called _"Wonderland clinic"._

Toby pouted, "The name makes no sense." 

"That's the point."

Car doors clicked shut as the trio exited the vehicle. Thankfully nobody needed to ask for a barf bag this time. They entered together and swiftly rushed to the nursery, where quite a few sick children were either sleeping, babbling or crying. Jim was reminded of the darkland's nightmare nursery, especially since they layout of this room matched what he remembered of the creepy place he rescued Enrique from. Some bassinets were hanging from the ceiling like swings, while others stood on the ground. There were quite a few who had toys in them as well, and Jim found himself wanting one of these goblin plushies just because it was so incredibly ugly. 

Their shoes squeaked on the sterile white linoleum floor, or in Nomura's case they clicked, as they walked around. Both Toby and Jim were more than just a little worried about everything that had just happened. However, what worried them more was the lack of parents and staff present. They saw nurses and one or two doctors, one surgeon even reminded Jim of his mom, but she had black hair. Her name tag read Esmeralda, but Jim couldn't remember ever seeing her at the hospital his mom worked at. He picked up his pace and fell in line right beside his favorite knife aunt.

"Nomura! Wait, this is going too fast. What's going on? What is this place? And why are we here?" Jim questioned her with a stern face. 

Then Toby pointed to one of the babies and said, "isn't that the mailman's daughter?" 

With an annoyed sigh Nomura gave in. She glared at the two boys in a way that told them perfectly fine that they had no time for this, but she answered none the less. Draal had told her about Jim and Toby and how they got along so well. She felt like these two kids were family already. Draal loved to have them around, and she found herself enjoying Jim's company as well. It was Toby and his energetic personality that was the problem. However, there was nothing she could do and besides, without his dorky heart Toby would not be Toby. 

"All of these children are going to die. This one has a terminal illness, that one a hole in her little heart, and the cute chubby guy over there is missing both of his kidneys thanks to an accident. Now, when we changelings come to this world we need a familiar. That familiar then gets sent to the darklands to be cared for while we gain their appearance. During their stay, our familiars neither age nor die because we feed them with special magical milk." 

Jim was too busy reliving his memories of the nightmare nursery, so Toby had to take over.

"So you guys save the kids?" He asked with a carefree smile.

"No. Almost all of them can not be saved no matter how much we try, but we make sure they are happy for as long as we can. The changeling then replaces the kid and the unknowing family won't be hurt by the loss of their child. It's the least cruel way for us to exist." 

Without any further questions asked or answers given Nomura spoke with one of the nurses present. From the little bit of changeling that Jim understood he heard the words "fast", "keep" and "now". It was moments like this one where he wished he had not been so angry with the original Strickler, and that he hadn't declined his offer to teach him their language. It will have been very helpful to understand what they were saying. Then the two changelings left, leaving Toby and Jim alone for a bit to watch the sick children. 

"You know, I think they are doing the right thing." 

Jim sent his friend a raised eyebrow.

"Don't Mr Spock me, Jimbo. You agree with me, I know it. I just... I thought they were just taking any random kid, but this? Wow. I kinda like them a bit more now." 

"Yeah..." Jim sighed, his heavy heart getting lighter, "me too." 

He wouldn't speak the thought out loud, but when Jim saw these babies he wondered what happened to the Jim that was supposed to be from this universe. If he was here, then where has the Jim gone that was actually supposed to be where he now stood? Jim felt like an imposter. However, no matter how he tried to twist and turn it Jim's ideas just got worse and worse. The best case scenario he could think of was that they had just switched, but that too brought up a lot of problems for them both. He felt like a changeling who has stolen a life that wasn't his. Until he for a way back, to fix things, he promised to protect the other Jim's world as best as he could. 

A few minutes later the doors burst open again and Nomura speed walked out to grab both of the boys. In her hands was a pizza box, but Jim knew it contained something other than food. This was the fetch she had been talking about earlier, and it was huge. In comparison to the one they had used to swap Enrique with, this fetch was large enough to let a skinny person jump through. Toby might need to lose some more weight to fit however. 

It gave Jim an idea. A very, very stupid and dangerous idea. It was one of these ideas that sounded strange enough to work, but would definitely end up in horrible disaster. It was a reckless thought, and he would be grounded for at least the next millennia if he voiced it out loud. Jim smiled, it sounded perfect. All he needed to complete it was the identity of the attacker, but that was not a absolute necessity. If he couldn't find they out, then he would just stay on guard and do this the old fashioned way.

During the car ride back home Jim forged his own plan to save Gunmar. It would be the perfect way to get the dark king firmly on his side, and maybe if he could get Gunmar to owe him a life debt he would send him home. Or, at least he could help him find a way back to his home dimension. Gunmar "The Black" had known immediately that Jim was a bit _misplaced,_ so he probably knew how to send him back to where he came from. All Jim needed to do was to earn Gunmar's favor, and what better way to do this than to save his life? 

They stopped before an old travel agency building, much to Jim's surprise. He shared a confused glance with Toby, but they followed Nomura anyway without complaint. She went to the phone and picked it up at the first ring.

"I wish to go where two faces meet." 

Suddenly the wall split apart and a hidden elevator opened it's doors invitingly. The trio went inside, and down. Far, far down. They passed intricately carved pictures of Gunmar, Bular and Morgana. Each was surrounded by many Changelings in various shapes, colors and sizes. They didn't bow to them however, instead they stood with them. Jim knew Gunmar wouldn't betray them, like his Gunmar had done. 

Then they finally stopped and a white corridor was revealed before them. Neon lights lit up the way to a single window where a person with a mask stood. Jim recognized these as the masks used by the Janus order, which made him lift his hand to look at his ring. Toby was busy checking out every nook and cranny of the place, until he ripped a banner from a wall to reveal the hidden special effects booth. Jim casually dragged his friend away from that. By his ear. With an absolutely masterfully blank deadpan stare. 

The two rushed to follow Nomura, who was already in the corridor to their left and right beside Draal. Not much later they reached Strickler and Bular in the changeling's office. This time Bular actually looked like the monster that Jim knew he could be. He was hissing and growling in his native tongue, while he let his claws scratch the floor to pieces. He was nervous enough that one single toothpick could make him snap, and Jim knew why. He fully understood what it felt like to have a parent be in danger. Especially if said parent was the only one he had left. Jim had been ready to kill to protect his mother, why should he believe Bular to be any different?

Their arrival was met with some grateful looks, and a massive amount of relief. Nomura put the fetch down on Strickler's desk before she went to joint the others in a meeting room. Toby and Jim were told to stay outside and wait, but teenagers have an incredible talent to ignore direct orders.

Jim summoned Moonlight and used it to blend with the shadows. He jumped behind a pillar to wait for someone to open the door, then he hushed in unseen. After the coast was clear, he let Toby in as well. The door thankfully could be opened by anyone from the inside. One would only need a key to enter. Inside there was a meeting room at the end of a sort of open foyer. The grey carpet made it possible for the two boys to sneak around, and eventually hide behind huge potted plants. That way they could listen in, and Jim could finish his own plan. 

Aside from Stricklander, Nomura, Draal and Bular, there were twelve other changelings in the room that looked as diverse as the places they hailed from. Jim also saw rudolph the red nose changeling again, and wondered why Yuva was even there if he cared so little about anyone else but himself. They apparently all held the title of virtuoso, which logically was a very high ranking position in the order, not that Jim actually knew how the ranking system worked.

"Today, exactly 11 hours and 43 minutes ago, Trollmarket stole a fetch and sent a gnome into the darklands. A goblin managed to take it back, but at a cost. The thief has been identified and will be dealt with accordingly in the future. Said gnome possesses a dagger laced with creeper's sun. We absolutely can not let it reach Gunmar." 

Jim bit his tongue to keep himself from cursing. He agreed with Strickler. They couldn't let that happen, but if these so called virtuosos didn't come up with something soon, then he would do something himself. He let one universe crumble to ruins once, he won't let that happen to another. Jim was going on a mission, only this time he would risk as few lives as possible: one.


	15. Mission Imperfect

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warned you that this goes from cuddles to apocalypse real quick.

⩟-⨈-⩟

"Are you sure I can't come?" 

Jim glanced up from his packed bag to look at Toby's puppy eyes. He sighed, put in some more bottles of water, and then looked away. He was in his room at night. They have just returned after listening in on the very important meeting they weren't allowed to join. As it was, neither Strickler not any other changeling knew what to do. They couldn't find a way to reach Gunmar soon enough to stop the attack, but Jim could.

"Yeah. I'm sure. Tobes, I'm sorry but this is something way out of your league right now, and I need you here. I need you to have my back. Besides someone has to look out for Draal and Bular." 

Toby visibly deflated at this, but then perked up again. He looked fully determined to be the best trollsitter there ever was. If his best friend needed him to watch over their big friends, then he would give his best. That didn't mean he liked it much however. Toby very much wanted to join Jim on this big adventure.

"What about a bodyguard though? I can be your battle bro!" Toby tried one more time.

"You might need to fight Bular on that, and I doubt he's going to play fair." 

With that said Jim finished packing everything he would need for his trip into the darklands. So far only Toby knew of his plans to squeeze through the "borrowed" fetch and save Gunmar himself. He made it very clear that this was a secret mission and that nobody could know about it until after he was gone already. Especially Strickler was to be kept in the dark. Toby hesitated to agree to this at first, but Jim eventually got him to agree by bribing him with food. He was good to cook a feast after he returned anyway, but Toby didn't need to know that. All Jim knew was that he didn't deserve Toby, and that he could count on him no matter what.

"So... This is it?" 

Jim nodded seriously and full of determination. The fetch was hidden in his wardrobe, right underneath a sunstone to keep any unwanted visitors out. He had etched runes into it as well to make extra sure that he would be the only thing to get through it. Even a goblin on the loose was a problem, much less the other dangerous wildlife that haunted the dark place. Toby was good with his hammer, but that didn't mean the two of them needed to unleash pandemonium on Arcadia.

"This is it. I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise. You keep Arcadia safe for me?" 

"Always, Jimbo." There were glimmers of tears in Toby's eyes when he said that. Jim hugged him tightly and gave his best friend a trusting pat on the back.

After a short moment of silence Jim closed his eyes, jumped right through the fetch and found himself in his worst nightmare again. The air burned his lungs, making him wrestle down unwanted tears. Jim did not look back. A single look would be enough to make him reconsider, but he had to do this. He absolutely had to go through with this insane idea born from his last two tango dancing braincells. If he did not save this world's Gunmar then they had a serious problem. He almost trashed his own universe twice, he didn't need to ruin another. Jim was a guardian of Arcadia, a paladin of both the human and the magical world. He was going to save Gunmar, and then return home.

When he opened his eyes he saw the giant corroded spires of dark rock that made the darklands unique. It smelled like rot and clammy stone, mixed together with sulfur and moldy carpet. Additionally there was a sickly sweet iron-like smell in his nose, one he would rather not think about. Between pillars of death and darkness, Jim's only lights were the acid green crystals that littered the area. However, thankfully the layout of it didn't seem to have changed. From what he could remember, he had to go left. 

"You can do this. It's a small step. It's a, ah, a fair price to pay to get closer to home, back to Blinky and Claire and everybody else. Back home, where I belong." 

For the first time Jim felt conflicted about his future. It had always been a given that he would return home, but he has been in this universe for a while now, and he came to like his new friends, and family. He was torn between his old life and this new one. However, the screech of an Nyarlagroth made him stop thinking. He needed to focus on surviving, and saving Gunmar. Then after he was safe again he could plot some more. Or rather he could strategize, because a hero doesn't plot. Jim shook his head to clear it. This wasn't the right time to think about heroes and villains.

His target was a gnome. He had to find it and catch it, which was like finding a needle in a haystack in a place like this. With their natural agility and unbelievable speed, gnomes were incredible pickpockets. They also made great scouts. Jim knew first hand how amazing the little critters could be, if they were given the chance to show their full potential. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice the Gumm Gumm soldiers before him until it was already too late. They stopped still at the same time when Jim froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. The last time Jim saw these soldiers they had thrown him into an arena to fight for his life. They spat on him, mocked him and even tortured him with their spears as well. He didn't want to fight, but he was ready to defend himself.

However, it didn't happen. Instead of the expected brawl, they bowed respectfully before him. Jim was officially doubting his sanity, for all of the ten minutes that it took until he remembered that this universe was the cheap knockoff version of the twilight zone. In hindsight he felt a little stupid for thinking the Gumm Gumm army would fight him. Given how their actual prince was behaving, he should have guessed this from the very beginning. Then the five of them rose from their bows to face him.

"I need to speak with his majesty. It's urgent, very very urgent." He told them in what he hoped was an authoritive tone of voice, despite his inner nervousness. 

The five heavily armored soldiers complied and moved to escort him to their king with no complaints. On the contrary, they treated him like he was royalty himself. Which is why he felt brave enough to test how friendly they were by talking to them. Jim knew for a fact that they spoke Trollish, and he hoped they also spoke some more human English. If not then he had no choice but to use their native language, and that meant coming up with a logical explanation of how he learned it. He carefully glanced at the rather small guard to his left and began talking.

"Uh... I'm Jim. What's your name?" 

No reply. They looked at him curiously however. Jim tried again, but this time in fluent trollish, _"I'm Jim, who are you?"_

There was a startled grunt first, but then a surprisingly shy answer followed, _"I am called Tarr."_

_"Nice name. So, you are a soldier. Right? What's it like?"_

When Jim started to feel awkward, the soldiers seemed to ease up. 

_"There is not much that we can do in this forsaken place. However, as a strike team we have been tasked with the duty of securing food and the safety of our kin. It is a honorable duty."_

Someone piped up, _"Aye! We w'ere looking fer dinner when ye bumped into us, m'lord."_

"M'lord?" Jim asked no one in particular, but he was ignored.

_"Our supplies are, are gone, gone. We need more, more!"_ Said a male troll from the back of the group and his way of talking made the teenager's head spin.

_"Fabock, stop repeating yourself!"_ Chimed a cool female voice in. Her command followed a chorus of _"yourself!"_ from the entire group. They were messing around, and it made Jim laugh. Gumm Gumms in this universe were people just like him. 

_"I'm Skarlagk "The Scary", daughter of Orlagk "The Oppressor". I lead this small squad ever since Gunmar bested my father in combat. I miss the spotlight, but it was a fair win and Gunmar is treating us well. My father is too old to lead anyway."_

_"Is he...?"_ Jim didn't want to say dead, but they all knew what he meant to ask.

_"No. My father is enjoying his retirement on an island you humans call Hawaii nowadays. The volcano trolls there are famous for their barbecue skills."_

Jim let out a relieved huff and the whole escort either snickered or cooed at how "adorable" he was acting. Tarr called him a whelp, to which he promptly got Jim's Moonlight falchions shoved under his nose. Not that Jim actually meant it, but as long as he was with Gumm Gumms he had to live by their rules and customs. They were a lot more rough than his human peers, meaner than the trolls he remembered, and much more direct than the changelings. However, they were also more sly than the common creature of the night. 

_"You said you are running low on supplies?"_ Jim asked casually enough to keep up the good mood. 

_"We need food. Nyarlagroth eggs make a decent meal, but their flesh is what we are really after. We usually cut off a piece of their tail."_

_"The longer the, the better, better!"_

As if summoned one of the monsters screeched in the not so far off distance. Jim was hesitant, but he didn't like the thought of anyone starving because of him. There was also the issue of him not fitting in. For his plan to work he needed to stand in Gunmar's good graces, and he needed the Gumm Gumms to like him. Jim had to be their friend, and the best way to befriend trolls was through their stomachs. He supposed he had enough time to help them get a decently sized tail and then go to defend Gunmar. He was, after all ahead of his personal schedule thanks to the patrol and a few short cuts. He summoned his bow and helmet. Thanks to Strickler he could shoot fairly well now, and hit at least half of the times he sent an arrow flying. This could work out.

"Alright. _Who else wants to hunt down dinner?"_

A chorus of five voices cheered around him. Then they took off like the morning sun had burned their toes. As he ran, Jim couldn't believe what he was doing, but his adrenaline high chased away any rational thoughts and justified fears. 

* * *

In the human world, Draal had to protect Toby from a hysterical Bular. Their dark prince was already worried about his father, but when Jim went missing as well he was out of his mind. The obsidian troll threw a tantrum of epic proportions, hacking and slashing apart everything in his path until he ran out of stamina and things to destroy.

"How could you lose the fetch again?! It was our only way to reach my father!" He roared, "nevermind that Jim is missing and nobody has seen or heard anything! What if it's an attack? If Trollmarket has him?"

It took every bit of courage inside Toby to not tell them about Jim's plan. 

"I am just as worried as you are, but attacking us won't help!" Shot Draal back. 

"You're one to talk, Draal "The Destroyer". You barely manage your own temper half of the time!"

"Hey! Repeat that once more, will you?!"

Toby was quickly pushed behind Strickler when the two trolls started to fight again. Any human hand that got between their horns would be crushed for sure. Meanwhile, Strickler sent Toby a look. It was one of these special looks that told the boy that the changeling knew what was going on, and that he had seen right past his facade. Toby didn't even resist when he was ushered out of the meeting room, and into Strickler's office. The walls rattled a little bit on their way out, but neither cared about it.

**"Where. Is. Jim?"** He said with a deadly chill in his voice. Every word was loaded with crippling worry and fear of losing his favorite protege. 

"You know something, Tobias. Tell me! _Please..."_ Hearing Strickler of all people beg was outrageous, but it was enough to make Toby talk.

"He... he made me promise not to tell anyone until he was gone."

"But now he is gone!" Stricklander accused, unconsciously transforming into his troll form while he spoke.

Toby squeaked, but got defensive soon after, "he's taken your fetch and went to save Gunmar."

_**"HE WHAT?!"** _

That outburst left Toby's ears ringing and his head spinning. Jim would have to cook a feast to make this up to him. He was also going to get grounded for at least a few centuries for this stunt, so as his best friend the cubby boy needed to grab him some Nougat Nummies for that time. He would need them if the flames inside Stricklander's slit eyes were any indication of how badly he was telling the news. Toby had never before seen a fire as dark, magical and majestic before. Then Strickler abruptly stormed out of the room to call in another emergency meeting. By the sound of if he was in desperate need of some good news. Meanwhile Toby was left alone inside the suddenly very empty and cold office.

A hiss from his backpack made Toby snap out of his shivering trance. He had almost forgotten about his new friend. 

"Cha ahcka. Chaka waka waka!" 

"It's alright. I hope. Jim's fine, and when he comes back I'll introduce you to him. Are you okay in there?" 

"Waka oooha!" 

"I'll take that as a yes." 

If one were to ask, Toby had not just adopted the goblin that got the fetch back and was not secretly nursing it back to health. All he would say is that he found a new friend, and that the hissing from his bag was actually just a sick cat. George the goblin was quickly cementing himself into Toby's heart and it helped fill the gap that Jim left in there when he left him only a few hours ago. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> George the goblin is an OC and I'm totally keeping him lol


	16. How Far The Shining Knight Has Fallen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Nothing goes as expected" perfectly sums this story up. I'm throwing something new at you again, and finally FINALLY I reached this special moment. GummGumm!Jim is my guilty pleasure lol 
> 
> Eyy, this has almost reached 3k hits and got sooo many kudos already!! I can't believe how much this silly thing has grown over the past. As thanks there is a little surprise for you at the bottom of the story that I hope you like :D

⩟-⨈-⩟

In the darklands, terrible screeching could be heard. Hunting a Nyarlagroth was a thousand times harder than being hunted by one, but the team of five Gumm Gumm soldiers plus Jim did well enough. So far nobody has lost a limb, which was saying something about their skill, or sheer amount of luck. They baited the giant monster into a canyon with too many sharp edges to be even remotely safe. It was full of dead or dying crystals, which meant that there was not much light. Skarlagk took the lead, with Tarr following her on her left. Jim assisted with his arrows. Using the fire opal inside it he shoot red flaming arrows that exploded in a hot blaze on impact. Thankfully he didn't need to be too accurate with these. The Nyarlagroth didn't like the heat and brightness at all, so it slithered underneath the sharp rocks that looked suspiciously like obsidian. Skarlagk wanted to use one of these to catch the giant worm, and if they were lucky then these stones would cut or rip pieces off of the monster like giant natural knifes. They could take these and get out of there without direct confrontation. 

Unfortunately, plans that sounded this easy never seemed to just work. Gumm Gumms may bring horrible, slow, painful and thoroughly-calculated pain, but even the fool-proof plans could go wrong. Tarr got caught by the Nyarlagroth and had to scramble away in order to avoid it's furious head. Skarlagk jumped in to kick the worm's head and stun it. However, she was only one troll, even if she was a very skilled one. The group quickly lost ground and had to retreat.

"It's too dangerous. We'll have to stick to eggs and fruit until tomorrow." She hissed out of breath. 

"No way!" And "eww" were the most popular things to moan in the group. Jim remembered the stinky fruits Nomura gave him, so he was one of the loudest complainers. 

He doubted that he could even stand being in the same room as the unholy abomination that was this fruit so he made a quick decision to try one last time to get that Nyarlagroth tail. Jim split from the main group and slipped through the cracks around them. It was dark, just like his armor and that gave him the camouflage he needed to sneak up on the angry worm. He chose his wulfenite arrows to freeze the Nyarlagroth's eyes shut, effectively blinding it. Then he jumped on its back. Jim ran from tail tip to head, splitting his bow into his dual blades as he was moving, and then he sliced like he's never done before. In one swift magically enhanced spin the head was off. 

"Well..." He gasped for air while his lungs burned, "that was fun." 

Immediately the group ran towards him with huge grins and starry eyes. Then Jim noticed they weren't looking at him, but at the dead worm he was standing on. He supposed that food was more interesting than him if they had been hungry for a while. He saw Skarlagk wave at him from below and jumped into her waiting arms to get out of the way. He didn't miss how she discreetly hugged the stuffing out of him for a second or two, but he didn't want to say anything. Gumm Gumms and affection went together as well as ice water and burning oil.

"What a feast! This is better than what we dared to hope for!" Tarr exclaimed excited for the meal he would be getting.

The whole group agreed with him, murmuring to themselves for a bit until Skarlagk shushed them. Enough chit chat, it was time to scramble until another Nyarlagroth decided to rear it's ugly and dangerous head to avenge it's friend. She commanded her group with practiced ease, which spoke of many years of experience. Quickly the four soldiers under her wing stood before her and were awaiting her orders. Then she turned towards Jim and crossed her arms.

"That was crazy, even by our standards." She shook her head with a chuckle, "alas, you caught dinner and deserve our thanks. For the record: I weakened it first for you. Got it?"

Jim nodded solemnly, but could not hold back a smile for long. 

"This will last us for a while. Maybe even long enough to finally find a way out of this place. Not everyone can just squeeze through a fetch like you, little beanstalk. Now let's go. Back to the citadel!"

"Yeah, but how are we going to move it?" Jim asked honestly curious about it.

In response the group laughed. They split apart and each grabbed a part of the giant worm. Together they moved it like ants and it cracked Jim up enough to make him snort. He would have loved to help, but he was too small to reach anything but the tip of it's tail, even with Moonlight's help. If he had been troll-Jim he could have helped more, but he wasn't. Not anymore. It honestly irked him more than it should have. Jim vividly remembered his identity crisis when he first became a half-troll thanks to Merlin's potion. However, he got used to it. Troll-Jim turned into just Jim after a while. Eventually eating spoons and forks became normal for him, but he never stopped missing being human. Now that he was human again, he missed the freedom and power his hybrid form gave him. There were moments when he felt useless, weak. 

There was no time to dwell on that however, because the group was getting closer to the main plaza that led towards Gunmar's citadel. Right through a stone skull, and over rivers of pain and agony they gleefully went. Jim almost didn't mind the scenery anymore, but what he did mind were all the Gumm Gumms who came to gawk at them and their catch. A crowd formed as soon as the first guards spotted them approaching with the catch. There were so many voices, so many faces and words at once. It was almost too much for Jim, but Skarlagk and her team seemed to enjoy the moment. They paraded through the streets on their way to the palace, specifically the throne room. Then Gunmar rose from his throne and casually walked towards Jim with a bedazzled expression on his face. 

"While I do appreciate your work, and I'm impressed by your skills, what are you doing here?"

The entire place became silent as their king spoke.

"Jim, Bular is out of his mind. I told you to keep an eye on my son, not to drive him up a wall, as you humans say nowadays." 

Jim didn't know what to do or feel. Nothing in Gunmar's voice betrayed his mood or intention. It made it incredibly hard for him to decide on what he wanted to say. His hesitation only made it worse however, because Gunmar was starting to get impatient. An inpatient Gunmar resembled an angry one, and Jim could vividly remember how viciously the Gunmar from his universe had beaten him when they first met. It brought up memories and images that made his head spin and adrenaline levels rise. It also had the side effect of finally loosening his tongue.

"You're being targeted. There's a gnome with a poisoned dagger coming for you and I'm the only one who could reach you fast enough to do something about it." He wheezed out quickly.

In return Gunmar's eye flickered in amusement, before it settled on Jim again. 

"Well, and you wish to defend me. Me, who has fought long before you were even a thought. Me, the dark king, the black death and doom bringer... You need a lot more than some faint Moonlight to play in my league, _little human."_

By now, Gunmar was circling him with a neutral and calculative look. In the dark he rsembled a shadow more than a living being, shifting through an endless sea of darkness with only his eye ablaze. It looked hauntingly beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

"You have the heart of a troll and the soul of a human. How interesting. Are you still willing to defend me? Are you scared yet, little one?"

Jim only stood his ground against Gunmar. He absolutely did not back down, nor did he allow himself to crumble just a tiny bit. He was stronger than he looked, and he had the skills necessary for the job. Gunmar needed to get used to this, because Jim would not let himself be stopped. In his timeline he fought Gunmar, Angor and Morgana all together, and he won. With the help of his team Jim Lake Jr was unstoppable, and he wouldn't let them down no matter what. Jim would not falter, and the burning blue of his own eyes conveyed that message perfectly clear. Steel blue burned and clashed with frosty azure as their eyes met, and a almost feral grin split Gunmar's face.

"Very well. I welcome you to the ranks of the Gumm Gumms, and with this I officially claim you as a member of my clan. From this day onward I shall speak of you as if you were my own brood." 

The Gumm Gumm king's blue markings lit up for a split second just as he put a finger over Jim's heart. Then a bright blue blaze flared up around him, flickering a bit before it buried itself into his mind, body and soul, and leaving blue glowing markings behind. To him they looked like the vines of a dying rose, all wrinkled and with thorns. He barely noticed how Gunmar lifted him up for everyone to see. He could not understand what they were saying thanks to an incredibly loud ringing in his ears, and neither did he notice what was going on around him. The only thing Jim did notice was that Gunmar cradled him in his hands while he carried him somewhere.

The ringing ebbed away slowly while they were walking. Jim was still confused, sore and a little angry, but he was too tired to care. Gunmar sat him down on a soft round bed and sat down beside him.

"Jim. I am old. I have seen much, and my eye tells me that you have only good intentions. However, life is anything but good. My son has taken a liking to you and I have to admit so have I. For a human, you are tenacious, wild and full of potential. It would be a waste to let you throw your life away so easily." 

_"What...? What was that?"_ The teenager slurred out slowly.

"I gave you a spark of my power and let it grow inside you. It's not mind control, don't give me that look! I only gave you a small part of myself, adopting you in the process. By trollish law you are my son, and my warriors will treat you as such. Do not make me regret this decision." 

Gunmar stood up to exit the room. 

"Rest. We will start with the feast as soon as it's prepared, then we can wait for this assassin you told me about to try anything. It wouldn't be the first time Trollmarket attempted something like this. A servant will come for you when we are ready. Until then, this room may be your sanctuary. Feel free to explore, but I advise against doing so."

Jim groaned as a wave of nausea hit him hard. A headache was soon to follow, but he wasn't scared of dying anymore. As crazy as it sounded, he trusted Gunmar. In response he only nodded and gave the dark king a thumbs up. 

"You are my kin now, Jim, and I take good care of what is mine. In the coming fight we stand together, my new son. Just as Bular and I have done long ago. Now, sleep. The magic needs to settle and sleep helps speed up the process." 

Neither Jim nor Gunmar noticed the tiny footprints that led towards the kitchen area of the dark citadel. Nor did they see the Moonlight amulet flicker for a short moment before it went silent and dark. It's metal seemed to corrode until it was completely black, only to revert to its original state as if nothing had happened. When Jim closed his eyes it was ticking as innocently as it always has. The dizziness ebbed away while the glowing lines on Jim's skin healed and vanished from sight. Only a few on his chest and upper arms were left, and those he could easily hide underneath a shirt. 

However sleep would not come easily to him because as soon as the dizziness and soreness were gone Jim was left with an incredible inner restlessness. Besides, sleeping with the armor on was incredibly uncomfortable. The fire that Gunmar ignited in him was burning him up now, and he needed something to do to deal with it that wasn't sleep. He looked around the room for anything to do that wouldn't obviously give it away that he was still awake. It wasn't like he could just hide underneath his blanket and play on his phone. He tried, but the app needed an internet connection to work, which he didn't have in the darklands.

"He said I could explore, right?" 

Jim focused on his newly gained power and it responded easily. It was frighteningly similar to the power he held as a half-troll, and it was similar enough to control. Admittedly, Jim had trouble to get it to do exactly what he wanted it to do, but at least he wasn't destroying anything by accident. He punched the air a few tims, then swung his imaginary swords before he stopped in a defensive crouch. With a grin he willed more power into his right hand, only to see it change right before his eyes. Where there was a human hand before, there was now a clawed obsidian one. The only saving grace was that he kept his five fingers on both hands this time. After some more exploration, trials and errors Jim found out that it wasn't him who changed but his armor. He has never felt so relieved and yet disappointed at the same time.

"So... From human trollhunter to adopted Gumm Gumm prince, huh? My life is weird."

* * *

On the other side of the metaphorical fetch was Bular with his hands on his horns for comfort. Gunmar's heir was deep in thought, and battling with an inner storm of emotions. For a long time he had longed for a companion for himself, one that was like Morgana was to his father. Being a prince he was always treated with respect when he grew up. However, other whelps feared him and his parents. Those who didn't fear Gunmar himself most certainly were terrified by his mother. They didn't want to overstep any boundaries and get closer to him, which meant that Bular had a lonely childhood. He tried to befriend Draal after losing his home during the Killahead battle, and they got along nicely most of the time. To the casual observer they were friends, but the truth was that Draal was his rival. They were competitors, driving another forward by fighting with each other to get stronger. They weren't true unconditional friends, even if they could share a laugh or two. Battle united them, and battle kept them together.

Then came Jim. At first he was amused by the human's attitude towards danger, but then he experienced true friendship for the first time. The human did not judge, nor did he give Bular any special treatment. To him, they were equals and for the first time in his long life Bular wasn't a prince, but a friend. Jim, loyal and brave, brought Toby with him and Bular grinned as he gained another, albeit a lesser, friend. He was perfectly fine with letting Draal have the chubby one. 

But then Jim went on a mission to save Gunmar, and Bular was powerless to follow him. He hated it, every second of it. He hated how Jim left him behind, even though he understood his logic. It left Bular to sit alone in his room and mope around until something happened. 

* * *

And now some fan art. Claire get's her wicked cool shadow form later, so until then have some Darklight Jim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jim's Moonlight armor differs from his canon Daylight/Eclipse one in 3 major ways:  
> 1\. It's symmetrical. That means he doesn't have a shield arm because he is dual wielding. That means he lacks his shield.  
> 2\. It's lighter so that he can move more quickly and easily. Dexterity +2 / armor - 2  
> 3\. It doesn't have a "Eclipse" counterpart. At first I wanted to go with a lunar eclipse, but then that sounded too obvious. I wanted it to have a reason to change, to evolve. So. . . that got me thinking. What happens if you mix Gumm Gumm magic with an already modded, customized and pimped up amulet? _"Darklight"_
> 
> Btw. We are officially at chapter 16. The original plot guide I threw together says we should be at chapter 8. That means this is probably going to be double the length I estimated it to be. My super awesome and totally messy plotguide says there should be 28 chapters, soooo. . . we are not even close to the end. I'm not going to make promises, but I can imagine this story to get over 40 chapters long.


	17. Afterglow Before The Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I promise this is the last chapter that has Jimbo in the darklands. The next one he gets a one way ticket for his sorry buttocks to go back home. I hope that "storytime with Gunmar part 2" makes up for it. Also fair warning: the skullcrusher is a dad. He does dad things.

⩟-⨈-⩟

Jim sat in the room that Gunmar had placed him in. It was still so very strange to think of them as his clan now, _his family._ Jim knew from Blinky's lessons that a troll's clan was important. A clan wasn't just people who you shared blood ties with, but also your image. Clan-less trolls were generally outcasts and mongrels that nobody wanted or that had nothing left. To him it was so very strange to have actual clan ties for the first time now, after watching other troll families and clans for so long. Not that Jim was afraid, he was anything but. If at all, Jim was excited and curious. However, he was still confused about everything that had happened too fast in the last few hours, and he was even more on edge now. Nevertheless Jim didn't want to lose his new "family" to a tiny gnome. Especially since he only just got adopted a few hours ago. He hated to sit still and wait.

A glance down revealed his newly acquired "carvings" which were channeling the Gumm Gumm magic that Gunmar gifted him. At first he saw them as scars, but they were more like tattoos because the skin underneath these was still as smooth as before. Jim checked - twice. He let his fingers brush over one of the blue lines and didn't feel a difference to what it was like before. He could feel the raw power flood through them, sink into his blood and slumber there, but the skin itseld was just as soft as it usually was. Somehow that bothered him, and yet he refused to aknowledge why. Focusing on the bright blue magic in him helped to distract him from his too-human skin. It was an inner coldness that bit into his body and made him feel alive. Which made it much harder to sit still and wait. He still hated to sit still and wait.

Then the restless teenager had an idea. The almost copy of Bular's room had a mirror in it that looked just like the one the Gumm Gumm prince used to talk to his father, their father, he had to correct himself. Jim was still hesitant to call both of them father and brother, but Gunmar was adamant about it and he would have to get used to it sooner rather than later. Not calling them by their titles would mean he rejected their offer to join the clan, and that would make him an outcast, something he would rather not be. In troll society, outcasts were even lower on the food chain than outsiders. The only thing below an outcast troll was a banished, or honor-less one. Blinky hadn't noticed that Jim security studied this part of Trollish law after the dishonored and banished Draal moved into his basement. He made sure the scholar troll wouldn't catch him, or else Jim's already huge troll - homework pile would have grown even larger.

He would have to deal with this later, whether he liked it or not. There was no point in arguing about it with the dark king if he had made up his mind, and besides, Jim liked having a big family. Dark trolls, changelings or humans, he didn't mind as long as they were on his side. To him it did not matter as he wife protect all of them equally. 

Meanwhile Jim put his clawed hand on the surface of the mirror and tried to feel the magic inside of it, just like Deya taught him to do during their midnight dream lessons. When that didn't work he resorted to pressing random spots. He was hoping for the best, and lady luck owed him quite a lot after the disastrous last year. Then again he counted himself as somewhat lucky already because he did not vanish yet. Death by temporal and - / or dimensional displacement did not sound appealing at all, and Jim was a paradox at best. He was thankful that his jump didn't cause a collapse of reality.

Jim let out a groan when he had pressed all of the buttons on the mirror and yet nothing happened. He even tried pressing all of them at once, to no avail.

"Come on. How hard can this be? It's just troll Skype! No big deal. Nana can use Toby's phone. I can do this. Mirror, come on, show me Bular." He mused to himself. 

When the reflection of himself turned into an image of a very pissed looking side view of Bular, Jim knew he somehow got it to work. He did a quiet victory dance before he knocked on his side of the mirror. Bular immediately jerked up and rushed to meet him. The way his eyes narrowed in barely concealed annoyance and tense anger made Jim's skin crawl. He may have miscalculated the sheer amount of stress that would be crushing into Bular's shoulders after he left them behind. Jim was reminded of the guilt he felt after rushing off into the darklands for the first time. 

"You! What were you thinking?! And what happened to you...?" 

"Hi Bular." 

"Don't you "hi Bular" me, you tiny gremlin! What possessed you to do this? We need that fetch you stole and we are running out of time!" He growled, but Jim wasn't impressed this time.

Safely sitting behind the enchanted glass, Jim was calm. He let Bular shout and bark it all out of his system for a while, and got comfortable when the prince switched from English curses to Trollish ones that had some heavily accented Gaelic mixed in as well. He was so zoned out that he almost didn't catch Bular's next question.

"Are you hurt?" 

Jim blinked owlishly when the troll's question registered in his brain. Then he gently replied with as much honesty as he could muster, "I'm okay. Sore and tired, but otherwise I'm fine. So is your dad, because I won't let anything happen to him. You've seen me fight, right? You know what I can do Bular." 

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Now that came out of nowhere. 

"There was no time. The changelings were going back and forth with no plan in sight when we needed to act fast. I'm... I'm honestly sorry for just disappearing like this, but I had to. I'm not losing anyone ever again." 

Bular seemed to accept Jim's reply and reasoning, albeit with a grim face and a grumpy huff. However, now that he was calmer than he had been all day he could study his human friend better. How eyes lit up in recognition and wonder as he saw the very familiar markings on Jim. Then he shot the teen a very cruel grin that promised a nightmarish sparring match one he returned home. Now that he could take it, Bular wasn't going to hold back anymore. Jim hoped he couldn't smell to he sweat that dripped down his back.

"Son?" Gunmar's voice startled both of them out of their staring match. The dark king held a small, shining key in his hand. One that he quickly hid in a pouch on his belt before anyone could see it.

"Father!" Greeted Bular while Jim chose to stay quiet.

"I saw the mirror's light. You were supposed to sleep," he pointed at Jim, "but this may work in my favor. Have you told him of today's events yet, whelp?" 

"Uh..." 

Gunmar huffed out a disappointed sigh an crossed his arms.

"I chose to adopt young Jim into our clan. You two act more like brothers than some of my soldiers, and those actually share blood with each other. So to speak. Be nice to another you two, and only kill what won't be missed. Understood?" 

Both Jim and Bular kept their mouths shut, not knowing what to say or how to reply. The whole situation was beyond crazy. Thankfully Gunmar didn't seem to expect a reply from them, which meant they could relax and just process things for a bit. Jim was both embarrassed and terrified of rejection. It was sudden, and strange, and he felt like even more of an usurper than usual. Not only has he taken this universe's Jim's place, but now he felt like a younger replacement for Bular. A glimpse to his supposed "brother" however eased some of these fears. If anything, Bular looked excited, or bloodthirsty. There was little difference between these expressions when it came to him. 

Jim was ready to ask about dinner just to get out of this awkward situation when he heard a metallic scraping noise, then a rattling. It sounded like tiny footsteps on cold hard floor. He jumped up from his spot and dove through Gunmar's legs to rush out of the room. There he spotted a shadow with a very pointy hat and a chubby nose. He cursed, then followed as quickly as he could only to crash into one of the servants. 

"I am so sorry! Forgive me, young prince, I was not watching where I went." 

Jim looked around frantically. Then he saw his _"gnome"_ and groaned. 

"It's alright. I wasn't paying attention either. You, uh, you can move on. I guess?" 

The servant hurried away to finish her job. The basket of unpolished weapons in her arms looked almost mockingly back at Jim. 

_Maybe I should follow Gunmar's orders and take a nap..._

He had mistaken a spearhead for a gnome. If that was not a sign of him needing a break, then he wasn't sure what was. Defeated he crept back into the room to find his clan members where he left them, taking about him. Suddenly he was wishing for the ground to swallow him up whole. Gunmar noticed and smirked knowingly. How he knew, Jim wasn't sure, but by the way he was looking at him, the teen was sure that he would much rather be asleep than dealing with this. 

"I'm tired." 

"Hello tired, I told you so." Gunmar said, causing Bular to groan while Jim almost ran into a crystal. 

"I was just telling Bular an old story about Deya. Here, come over. It's one of my favorites." 

Jim obliged and got comfortable on the floor right beside the skullcrusher. Moonlight shimmered in the faint light that emitted from the mirror and gave the whole room a mystical atmosphere. After his embarrassing stunt Jim was content to just fade into the ever present darkness and let Gunmar talk. Plus, he was still a good story teller, after all.

"Where were we? Ah. Right. After Deya punched Merlin and told him to lick the bushigal off of Tellad-Urr's gronk nuks she told him that she was quitting. Merlin didn't like that. However, this time he could not force the armor to bend to his will. It's creator he may be, but with the help of Morgana and Angor they created a magical block. They could keep Merlin out of the amulet for a while, but not for long."

"Deya resisted him for weeks. She tired herself out both physically and mentally until the first cracks began to show. She was a second too late during a fight." 

Jim remembered his ghostly mentor, so full of life and sass. It wasn't hard to imagine that she could stand her own against Merlin for so long. To him it was her death that hurt more, and he would show her some appreciation once he returned home. 

"With her dying breath she asked Angor to use her very soul to power a new kind of amulet. Moonlight was originally supposed to be used to pursuit and eliminate Angor, but together they changed it into the armor you now wear, Jim. Allowing Deya to protect her successors and, I believe she said: kick more ass!" ...even after her physical death." 

"Wow..." Jim whispered as he studied Moonlight once more. He never before noticed it really, but it looked different as well. There was a crescent moon like plate welded on top of it that covered most of the glowing surface. The clockwork underneath ran smooth as ever, just that half of it was hidden beneath dark silver metal. On said cover were runes that he suspected were placed there by Angor himself. It's apparently what kept Merlin out of his head, and Jim was eternally grateful to one of his worst enemies. He almost didn't notice when Gunmar continued.

"There was a problem however. Moonlight could only be used by someone who was already chosen by Daylight. Only a trollhunter was able to evolve into a nightranger. That's why Moonlight was forgotten by almost everyone. Merlin made sure of it himself that nobody would ever use it... until you came along and brought chaos with you, little misplaced whelp." 

Jim realized that this tiny detail was why Gunmar knew he was not from this universe. It was also very likely the reason why the dark king took him in without a power display. Because Jim had Moonlight, Gunmar was aware of his original status and title. He knew a trollhunter was powerful, powerful enough to honor his name. A human trollhunter especially, because he needed to be strong _**and** _smart to keep up with trolls he fought. However, Jim had no evidence for that theory to be true. He just relied on his gut feeling.

"Angor said that the only way to defeat Merlin was to shatter his heart, but I don't think the wizard ever had one in the first place."

Jim eyed Gunmar with a strange look, "coming from you that is outrageously cruel. Maybe it's true, but it's cruel none the less." 

Bular nodded and hummed deeply in agreement, which caused his father to erupt into roaring laughter. Apparently telling the skullcrusher that he was cruel was a compliment. They continued to talk about mundane things, how the situation in Arcadia was, and what trollhunter Kanjigar was doing. During a more that boring retelling of how Bular had to sit through Janus Order meetings, Jim's eyes became heavy. He fought to keep his dignity and stay awake but the events of the day finally caught up with him. The battle was short, and in the end Jim fell asleep with his back against Gunmar's leg. He instinctively curled up into a tight ball, an obvious sign of distrust, but the dark king would not be offended by this. On the contrary, he was proud that his newly adopted son had some resemblence of self preservation, unlike most of his soldiers. 

"Aww. His cuteness is disgusting." 

"He reminds me of you, when you were this small, Bular. You loved to grab my horn and you made the most ridiculous noises." 

The conversation was quickly over after one more terrified and embarrassed grunt from the skullcrusher's firstborn. After that he tapped the mirror, making it go dark. With the practiced ease of a widowed single father he scooped the human, so tiny compared to him, up and put him on the bed. With his dark armor on, Jim could almost have been mistaken for a sleeping newborn whelp. However, Gunmar was no fool. He was fully aware that this was a young adolescent and not a child, and he would treat him accordingly. When he was awake that was. 

The dark king left the room with purpose in his stride. There was a huge celebration to prepare, and an army to reign in. Kingship was hardly as wonderful and pleasant as most others imagined it to be. He also needed to go and find a very special stone for Jim to use in his amulet. Then he would have to cut it as well. He shrugged. Gunmar could create marvellous jewelry out of bones and teeth, he could find and polish a magical chunk of hardened dirt. 

When Gunmar entered the vault to get this special stone, he hesitated a bit. Right beside it sat the birthstone of his son. He may be able to see Bular, but he missed his whelp more than anything. He wanted to hold him again, not caring of how weak he must seem to his army. After all, he could always just beat respect into them again, if they had a problem with him hugging Bular. The years in the dark taught him, and they taught him well. All Gunmar needed was to regain access to the surface, and get his strenght back. He longed to feel the moonlight on his skin again, to feel the wind in his scruff, and to smell the spicy scent of burning villages in his nose. The wizard would pay for his actions and nothing would stop this furious father from ending the man who took his wife from him, and separated him from his son. Merlin ripped his family apart. Gunmar would rip him apart in return. 


	18. How To Go Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm throwing another one at you. 
> 
> Writing Gumm Gumms is fun. We have the same kind of humor lol

⩟-⨈-⩟

Jim needed the rest. It cleared his head and made him realize how much of a dimwit he had been. He called himself many colorful names in English, hoping that nobody would be able to understand him in his native language. Now that the _bushigal_ got cleared from his head, Jim could see that he overreacted quite a bit. Gunmar was not going to die that easily. As king he has seen many attempts to end him fail. The dark king's win streak was phenomenal, up until Killahead and the following banishment. If not for a legendary magical sword designed to specifically kill him, and the help of his friends Jim was sure he would have lost during the eternal night. He could still feel the ghosts of pain rip through his spine when he remembered that particular fight. 

Him storming into the darklands yet again not only jeopardized his secret, but also his friend's safety and the security of the whole Janus Order. The guilt that brew inside the young warrior's heart was crushing into him like a tidal wave, now that he got the time to think about all of it. It also made the weight on his shoulders that much harder to carry. Jim absolutely had to win this fight or else the end of the world would all be entirely his fault. The gnome had to die. 

He summoned the Moonlight blades and looked at his reflection in the twin swords. Jim had killed before. He did so on a near weekly basis since they moved to New Jersey, but ever since he came to this universe he didn't have to be the trollhunter anymore. Here, he was not forced to be something other than himself. He could just be Jim, a teenager who still learned how the world works, instead of the wild champion of light. If he was being completely honest he never liked the job itself. Jim did it because it was the right thing to do. He was a natural protector and he cared about his friends and loved ones too much to let them down. However, he hated that he had to kill and fight. In a nutshell, Jim hated trollhunting rule number two with a passion.

A knock on the door ripped him out of his thoughts and led his eyes towards a rather round servant. This Gumm Gumm looked like he might have been a KISS fan, of he had access to human music in the dark world. Deepest blue fur curled together into tight knots, and only a nose and much too long tongue was visible from underneath it.

"Dinner time?" Jim asked as he stood up.

"Your father is waiting for you." He still silently cringed at that.

Jim had to take a double take at the trolls voice. It was the softest, most melodic female voice he had ever heard. As smooth and warm as a spring breeze as it was, it didn't suit the spiked clothes and ratty hair of the apparently not so male troll servant. Jim hoped that the dim green light hid the redness that spread over his cheeks at the blunder. 

Very tightly he asked her to lead the way.

The great hall did it's name justice. At the end of it stood a massive chair for Gunmar himself, one decorated with crystals that framed it like spears. It stood at the head of a long stone table. There were easily forty trolls sitting on it as they munched on the cooked Nyarlagroth. Some even ate it raw. Jim knew any human should have been disgusted by it, but the memory and instincts he kept from his half-troll time made his stomach growl. He was actually excited to get some giant worm tartare. 

Gunmar spotted him enter and waved his human child over. There were two seats beside his, one empty and presumably for Bular. The other was a funny sight. It was a huge ornate chair like the other, but someone had the great idea to pile armor and weapons on it. All Jim could think of was a highchair version of the iron throne. He climbed up on it and sat there awkwardly before he decided that the table was more comfortable. Jim pretended he didn't see money being exchanged after he made it clear he wouldn't sit on the highchair abomination.

The food was great, raw but great, and they had fun. Jim even managed to ease up a little bit when one of the trolls, a rather flat being with blue fur, started to blow bubbles into his glug. The warriors took turns telling old tales about their adventures. The forty around him were Gunmar's elite, his nobles so to speak. They were his most skilled and terrifying warriors and Jim felt like he fit in just right. 

It was when the dark king lifted his drinking horn for a toast, that a shadow rushed over him. Jim reacted just in time to jump up and see Gnome Chompski rush at Gunmar with a shimmering dagger. He didn't think when he acted. Jim let his heart decide as he shot an ice arrow at the tiny assassin, hitting and shattering his only horn. The frozen gnome hit the floor with a pitiful plink before the trolls could pull out their weapons. There was a deadly chill and a eery silence in the room. 

Then Gunmar smashed his fist onto the table with a bang loud enough to make everyone flinch. He laughed in delight at the display and the trapped gnome. By the looks of it, Chompski was still alive. His eyes were still moving around, frantically trying to find a way out. He was very afraid now that his mission failed and he was at the skullcrusher's mercy. Jim almost felt remorse, but then he reminded himself they this was not his friend. This was a assassin sent to kill Gunmar, and not the weird critter that lived in a dollhouse and married a action figure. He didn't dare to move a single muscle, but Jim swallowed down the heavy lump in his throat.

"Have you learned _nothing_ from the past?" Gunmar asked the gnome in the ice block. "How many times have you tried to kill me? _Feh!_ I lost count." 

He stepped around the table and pulled something out of the pouch on his belt. Whatever it was, it glowed dangerously green, but was definitely not kryptonite. The glowing shard of misery and sharp edges was then put into Jim's hands with not much fanfare. It prompted the teenager to look up, lost. 

"Place it into Moonlight, there should be an additional slot on the top." Ordered Gunmar, and Jim did as he was told. 

"We'll have to cut this short, I'm afraid. Jim, take this dirty street urchin with you and see to it that it won't see another night. The stone I gave you should allow you to travel back home." 

Jim couldn't believe what he just heard. _**Home.**_ Gunmar, who knew about his origins just told him that he could go home. It couldn't be they easy, or could it? Hope bloomed in Jim's heart when he thought about it, drowning the reluctance to leave his new team behind. Through all this, Jim smiled happy to hear good news for once. He could go home. Gently he put the tiny gem into his amulet. It glowed there as innocently as a piece of radioactive trash, but to him it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Idly he noticed that his bow and swords gained a faint green glow, much like the natural crystals of the darklands around him, but nothing else happened. After everything that had happened he wouldn't have been surprised if he grew a tail or something.

Next on his mental list was the gnome. Jim picket up his gnome-popsicle with his left hand, then summoned one Moonlight blade in his right. He looked over to Gunmar for guidance and saw him make a sword slashing motion in the air. So, just like he would do during sparring practice with Draal, Jim copied him, and earned himself a trip back home. 

The magic around him pulled on every limb it could reach. He felt like he was both falling and flying at the same time. Not that he would ever admit it, Jim screamed the entire way. Even when he plopped down on a patch of wild flowers and grass, he kept his arms up protectively. Even cute flowers could be dangerous. Jim had learned to never trust anything new if he wanted to survive, and these wild poppies looked suspicious.

Then he dared to open his eyes again. He didn't even notice he had closed them. Around him, it was as peaceful as a forest at night could be. He found himself in the same forest area near Arcadia where he had run off to when he first became a half-troll. It was familiar in all the right ways. Jim smiled, giddy with excitement and hope. Remembering Gunmar's words hyped him up even more. He was home. 

"I know I am supposed to kill you, but I don't think I want to. Let's make a deal," he turned to look at the still frozen gnome beside him, "you quit this whole assassin thing and become a pacifist. In return I'll let you go."

He squeaked something in reply but the ice muffled his words. Neither did Jim speak gnome. 

"Okay, uh, one blink for yes. Two blinks for no. Alright?" 

Dutifully, the gnome blinked once. Jim kept his word and released the small critter only to see him run off into the night. He kept watching the shrub where Chompski had vanished in for a bit, almost expecting something else to happen. Then there it was. A shadow hushed through the forest. The ground underneath him shook with every step that the creature in the shadows made. It had Jim on edge and ready for battle in no time. 

"Show yourself!" 

The creature didn't answer, but the heavy footsteps stopped. 

"Face me! Who are you? What do you want?" 

Fear gripped Jim's heart. In response to it, he puffed out his chest. Turning fear into excitement, Jim spun around where he thought his opponent was and readied his bow. A single black arrow pointed towards the shadow behind some shrubs. As it came nearer, and then eventually stepped into the light, Jim saw the face of an old friend.

"Aaarrrgghh!" He cried and lowered his bow, "am I glad to see you." 

Aaarrrgghh rumbled out a soft growl that sounded more confused than anything else. Jim guessed that he was as surprised to see him, as Jim himself was to be home, and human. The last time he saw Aaarrrgghh they had said goodbye, and Jim had definitely been a half-troll then. He wasn't surprised that the green fuzzy giant was confused. 

"You..." He started to say, and the word's clarity sent a shiver down Jim's spine.

Dread went through his body, followed by doubt and despair. It sunk deep into his bones to fester and lurk there. Something was wrong, very, very wrong. Aaarrrgghh didn't talk with this sharpness in his voice. Of course he was by no means dumb, but he had always had trouble speaking fluid English, and his Trollish was only a bit better. The Aaarrrgghh Jim knew didn't look at him with cold green eyes either. When the realization hit him, Jim wanted to cry. He wasn't home at all, and even worse he was in deep trouble.

"If you are what a Gumm Gumm is now, then I am glad I left Gunmar centuries ago." This was Aaarrrgghh's voice, but he wasn't Jim's friend. 

"What do you want from me?" 

"My name is not Aaarrrgghh, human. I am Aarghaumont, general of the Trollmarket army. It will be a delight to rip you to shreds, child of Gunmar." 

He crouched low and laughed when Jim stumbled backwards. The combined disappointment from still being stuck in the twilight zone, and seeing the gentle giant be evil crushed Jim's heart. He didn't want to fight him. He couldn't fight him. Fighting Kanjigar was one thing, he didn't know him that well and he may or may not have some fun paying his predecessor back for all the trainings sessions, but Aaarrrgghh? No. Jim couldn't possibly fight him. The memories of their friendship were too precious to be ruined, or rather disgraced by a fight. To him, Aaarrrgghh was, is, and always will be a pacifist and giant cuddle troll. 

So Jim's mind did the only thing it could to protect his memories and emotions: it divided the Aaarrrgghh he knew from this one. Aaarrrgghh would always be his friend, and his rock to hold onto. The terrifying warrior before him how was Aarghaumont, the merciless soldier.

And with that Aarghaumont jumped high into the air above them, ready to strike little human Jim down where he stood. Not for the first time Jim wished that he was still part troll. Alas, he was a squishy human, but one with magical armor and a stubborn streak. In another universe he might have yielded, but not in this one. Leaves flew up to mix with dust as both of them engaged in their deatdmatch. Only one of them would walk away from this, and Jim swore that it would be him. He would return to his family.

_Rule number one: don't fear your opponent. Never let fear paralyze you. Never let it hold you back. Fear may keep you alert, but only true awareness saves you. Rush into battle with excitement and soak up every detail around you with glee, and not fear._

Bular's voice rang clear through Jim's mind. With a grin that would have terrified his younger self he threw himself at Aarghaumont from below.

"Let's dance, general."


	19. Aaarrrgghh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very creative title. I know lol  
> Hopefully the chapter can make up for it.
> 
> I also have an announcement to make: this story is going on a little break. I've been told it's getting a bit stale and some distance would be nice, no next week's update is canceled. Posting will resume in 2 weeks.

⩟-⨈-⩟

Spin, dive, a left twist, and then a right one. 

Jump, roll, a step forward, and then two back.

A fist from above, duck.

A quick glance behind, shoot.

Aarghaumont roared in anger as the arrow hissed past his face. He made a sound so deep and gutteral that it shook the ground underneath them. Like a steamroller he came at Jim, forcing the Moonlight clad trollhunter to sidestep. As long as Aarghaumont was in motion, he couldn't fight back. There was no opening or weak spot for him to target on the general. 

Jim had noticed very early on that he would be dead by now if his armor wasn't magical. Daylight, Eclipse or Moonlight, it didn't matter which one he was wearing. All that he knew was that any normal armor would have been torn to shreds long ago go. It both annoyed and terrified him very much. 

Whatever arrow he fired, the general dodged them all. For something of his size Aarghaumont was quite nimble on his feet. Much like the original Aaarrrgghh, as Jim called the nice version of him, Aarghaumont was powerful. The pure raw power that coursed through him was enough to make him play rough.

Slide to the left, slide to the right. Jump, bend back, grab. 

Jim held onto Aarghaumont's scruff with all of his might, and climbed up to sit on he general's neck. Using his horns as handles, Jim steered them both towards a nearby waterfall, albeit a small one. It seemed much larger than two of Draal, but it was tall enough to distract him and remove most of Jim's scent. The rest was covered with wild rosemary and thyme that conveniently grew nearby. With Aarghaumont's nose confused, Jim could land a hit. It was a small cut underneath the general's arm, but it still hurt. 

The sudden surprise of pain also stunned Aarghaumont enough to lose track of him. Finally Jim had the chance to get some distance between them and use his bow. He focused on the amethyst in his amulet to summon powerful little storm arrows that buzzed with untamed electricity. Jim used two to create a stream of air to push the giant krubera back. Then he fired the rest of his charged up lightning arrows at Aarghaumont's feet. He didn't want to seriously hurt him however. Deep in his memory he could still see his friend in the general's cold green eyes and that was his achilles heel. Of course Aarghaumont exploited this weak spot.

"Gunmar is weak! He is a traitor to all of trollkind, to be friends with the witch. Bah! And now there is you. A human being is his kin?" Aarghaumont laughed, _"how scandalous."_

With another earth shaking roar, Aarghaumont smashed his fist onto a nearby oak to break it in two. The makeshift weapon in hand, he was running towards Jim with all his might. 

In return the nightranger focused on the peacock coal stone in his amulet. His arrow turned into a swirl of lavender and peppermint green that blinded anyone looking into it for too long. When he shot, he hit Aarghaumont in the tail. It was enough for the magic to work. Soon enough there was a ghostly fog clouding the general's eyes as the peacock coal's illusion magic manifested. He swung around wildly, fighting what was not real. It gave Jim a much needed break to catch his breath and ready another arrow. 

But the magic was over far too soon. Aarghaumont cleared his head by ramming it into a rock, much like one would do to get rid of a pixie. Then he growled out a deep, wet sound. Much like wet stones that were clancked against each other, he cracked his knuckles as he slowly approached the cornered Jim.

 _"Pyrma, jafnunger joru-faegir._ Ranger... I underestimated you, but it is over now." Aarghaumont chuckled as he grabbed him by his neck. 

Jim quickly noticed how there was no ground below his feet, and then came the loud growling of the waterfall below him. Water drops splashed against his feet while he fought to regain control of this fight. Jim's hands scratched at Aarghaumont's arm, leaving thin marks thanks to the armor's claws. With all his might and will to live Jim fought. With what little power he had left he kept struggling until the very end. Then he was dropped down the waterfall. The last thing Jim saw before the wind and spray swallowed him whole was gnome Chompski, blowing the raspberry at him.

Then it got cold and wet. So, so cold. He crashed into the water with a hard thud that shook the marrow in his bones. The waterfall pushed him back down and for small moment he had a flashback to Merlin's potion. The water tried to get into him, to take him over and snuff out his light. Just like with the potion it made him panic. Adrenaline filled him and gave him strength, but the water was stronger. 

_Don't you dare give up now, skinny legs! I didn't train a puppy, I trained a protector. Now, fight!_

**_Fight!_ **

Moonlight glowed dangerously bright before it turned dark. It's silver metal corroded into inky black as obsidian crystal covered it. Jim's new tattoos lit up and he pushed once more to survive. With the little air he had left he knew his time was almost up, but he still dove through the wild waters. The teenager pushed himself to his limit and reached the shore. Jim, coughing and gasping for air, barely managed to crawl halfway out of the water before he slumped down in a daze. 

"Damn it." He rasped. Then he went limp.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the other end of the city was Strickler. His suit was wrinkled and there were a few hairs out of place on his head, but he still held himself as elegantly as he could. The lukewarm coffee in his hand mirrored his worry perfectly, even as it spilled when he got a call. The changeling fished his phone out of the inside pocket of his suit with a sigh.

"What?!" He snapped.

 _"Mr Avocado?"_ A slow, deep voice rumbled. 

"Is this a joke? Listen, I am not in the mood for this childish form of harassment, so please cease it this instant! How did you get this number?" 

There was murmuring on the other end that even changeling ears couldn't understand, but then the voice was back.

_"No! This is no joke. We found your whelp in our river. He was fighting with the general and fell down Lydia's waterfall. You know where that is?"_

Immediately Mr Strickler's attitude did a 180 degree change, "yes. I do." 

_"The order helped my tribe. Now we help you. We'll be expecting you soon."_

Then the call ended, and it took all of his self restraint to not transform on the spot and fly off to drag Jim back home. He hurried to the spot where he had parked his car and drove out of the city like a lunatic. The order could deal with his speeding ticket, they covered for Nomura all the time. Jim was more important right now and getting to the boy was his top priority. From what he heard, he assumed that Jim was with the river trolls that lived in the creek near Arcadia. They were mostly neutral, being herbivore and gentle by default, but after the order helped them a few years back they were friendly. Not quite allies, but definitely not their enemies. Jim was safe, but Strickler feared in what condition he would find the boy.

As soon as he was out of human sight he finally transformed into Stricklander. Using his wings, the worried mentor reached the tribe of river trolls much faster than he would have had he driven there. True to their words, Jim was there. Nestled in furs and blankets the young warrior slept peacefully and innocently, and it was the most wonderful thing that Stricklander had seen all week. However, Jim was injured. After a careful look Strickler could see bruises, cuts and scars all over Jim's body. Especially a cluster of thick ones on his chest and arms worried him because they looked unnatural. Something about these made the head of the Janus Order shiver.

"Nomura told us to call you if something ever happened. We tried to use the whelp's phone but that got damaged by the water." One of the living river boulders said. 

"Did she now?" Strickler asked dryly. At least he knew who gave him the horrible nickname now.

Below him Jim stirred and woke up with a groan. To Strickler's ultimate horror the marks on his skin lit up in brilliant blue, only to fade away after a second. As soon as the light show was over Jim jumped at him and gave him a hug around the waist. The boy held on as if his life depended on it, and it made the river trolls coo in delight. Strickler allowed it, but only because this was his young Atlas. No other deserved the honor to hug him like that, and in front of strangers no less. 

"Jim?" 

The teen mumbled a muffled something into Strickler's cape.

"You are in _**so much trouble,** _young Atlas." 

This time Jim's reply was clear enough, _"bushigal."_

Once more did the changeling sniff the air to check if there was danger nearby. The scent of the terrifying general still hung around the boy, but it was older and fading already. When he had dropped Jim he must have expected him to die in one way or another. The fall itself would have been a much nicer end than drowning, but he fully believed that Aarghaumont hoped it would have come to this. Thankfully neither did, and Jim was safely tucked in his wings now. 

"You'll be my demise one day. I hope you are proud of yourself." He huffed, but got no reply. 

Jim was looking at something in the distance with such wonder in his eyes that Stricklander couldn't help himself, he had to look for himself. As it turned out it was a clear sunrise that had captured Jim's attention. It was vivid, beautiful and crisp, but to Strickler it was nothing special. Then he remembered just where the boy had been for three days now, and he understood. He would let him have this before the inevitable grounding they awaited him. 

One by one the river trolls returned to their place in the water. There was a grotto nearby where they had started to settle down, so it left mentor and student alone in the early morning sun. When it got brighter, Stricklander transformed back into Strickler to avoid sun stains. Not much later after this, Jim's new pitch black armor vanished like coal dust in a breeze. It seemed to burn in the sunlight, but Jim himself was thankfully unharmed. That was something they both would keep in mind. Then the changeling ushered the boy into his car. It was a lovely Monday morning and what better way to punish a rogue rebellious whelp than putting him in a boring human school class. After they healed those cuts and bruises of course. 


	20. Re|United

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back and working on this again. The small break really did wonders.  
> As promised, I've got a new chapter for you where a fan favorite finally makes her way into the story.

⩟-⨈-⩟

They made it back to the Janus Order just in time to stop Draal from trying to squeeze through the fetch himself. Bular was both helping him, and holding him back, as they fought over who got to poke their nose into the magic rift first. Of course it was too small for them to fit, but neither troll was showing any signs of giving up. To Jim the sight was as heartwarming as it was hilarious. He laughed out loud at their antics, and then at their stunned faces.

As greeting, he softly said, "Hey, I'm back." 

Bular moved first. Draal was slower because he needed to grab Toby. They almost ran Jim over with their worry, questions and lectures, but to the returned teen it was music in his ears. He had missed them a lot. Then Bular did something outrageous again that it made Draal and Toby yell out some curses. The dark prince lifted his fist and playfully poked Jim in the ribs, not too hard of course, but also far from cuddly. It caused his marks to flare up in a bright blue. The magic was catching most of the hit like a shield. Afterwards the team needed a moment when they saw Jim glow.

Bular let out a snorted laugh, "Cute." 

"Dude..." Toby ventured forward as well, "those are some awesome sauce tattoos, not gonna lie, but won't your mom ground you for life? Aaah and also, do they... hurt?" 

"I'm okay. They don't hurt at all..." Jim hesitated to continue as soon as he thought about his mother, "I'm going to have to tell her. Mom I mean. I, I think this can't go on like this."

Toby's smile dimmed a bit, while Draal and Bular just looked at the two humans in confusion. They didn't know exactly who Jim's mother was, but they had heard stories. From these legendary recountings of the _Bar-bruh-ra_ and her many honorable victories they were deeply impressed. The little human beat death when all hope was lost already. Again, and again. She saved the ones already deemed lost. To Draal she was admirable because she was a protector of life. Bular liked that this tiny woman with hair so red it would have made her a witch in ancient times. She was never afraid to tackle a challenge. That aside, Gumm Gumms valued healers a lot. They were natural born warriors, so they naturally got hurt quite often. In contrast to his mother, Jim's hair was a dark brown, borderline black, much to the dark prince's delight.

"So... Jimbo, what do they do? Except looking cool, I mean?"

Instead of giving a reply, Jim shared a look with Bular, who then powered up his very own magic carvings, letting his sinister red clash against Jim's cold blue. The dark prince enjoyed the looks of amazement he got from the rest of the group. Draal eventually followed, but without Gumm Gumm magic his engravings didn't glow. He only had his buff chest and natural crystals to show off. He still joined the group on the for the rest of the story sharing session. It drove them together even more.

"Okay. I need to say something. Can I have your attention please?" Jim asked.

Every member of the still unofficial team trollhunter-hunters looked at him with neutral faces. Some were more curious, like Toby, while others seemed more hesitant, like Strickler. Regardless of what went through their heads, they let Jim speak.

"After this weekend I've come to the conclusion that there won't be any more solo missions. I... I was dumb and reckless, and I'm sorry for all the grief I caused you." He said as honestly as he could. 

Then Jim added with an authority in his voice that had Strickler raise a brow, "as Moonlight's wielder, and current nightranger I officially declare us a team. We are the guardians of Arcadia from now on, and we work together. All in favor?"

As it turned out, he still had his charisma. All were in favor of the idea. Toby even got a high five from Draal, which made Bular snort in amusement.

Then Strickler had to ruin the moment.

"Now, come along we need to take care of these wounds. You are going to school today, so you need to look presentable." He casually said, much like he was just talking about the weather.

Jim however paled at the thought of school. He was tired, sore and hungry. All he wanted to do was to crawl into bed and forget about the weight of the world for one day. Alas, Atlas was not allowed to rest. He went where he wasn't supposed to go, and now he had to live with the consequences. Strickler insisted that he had to go and pretend everything was normal for everybody's sake. It was supposed to be a life lesson, but Jim wasn't able to think about it for too long before his head hurt. He just could not imagine what he could learn from having to sit through classes boring enough to make him drowsy on a normal day. He was sure it was almost guaranteed that he fell asleep in either math or Spanish class.

But the more he thought about his punishment the more he wanted to fight it. If he fell asleep even once he would get detention, and that meant even less time for him to recover. Now, Strickler may have access to miraculous magic healing potions, but that didn't help Jim deal with everything else. At least not much. He was glad to not feel pain anymore, however, even if he was still asleep deprived, hungry and moody. Fortunately most teenagers were like that so he wasn't sticking out of the masses too much. 

He bravely faced the first half of the school day, managed to stay awake through math class, and then glared at Strickler during history. Honestly, he did so just because he could. His tired and mushy mind didn't learn anything new that day. At all. It was too be expected however, so Strickler didn't reprimanded him when he drove him home. There was something important he needed to discuss with his protege as soon as possible, which meant as soon as they closed the door to Jim's house.

Before the teen could escape into his room, the changeling put a small bracelet on his left wrist. It wasn't big or obnoxious. It was just a basic leather band with a small stone in it actually. Much to Jim's annoyance it didn't come off no matter how much he tugged or scratched. Chewing on it didn't help either, but it made Strickler look at him funny. 

"It's a tracker. That way I can always know where you are." He provided.

Jim stopped as the words registered, then barked out "hey! What about my privacy?" 

"You lost that when you stole the fetch, and then jumped head first into a situation that could have gone cataclysmic. I had to pull strings to stop the Janus Order from taking you in for treason. So, no. Until I can trust you to not do anything this stupid again you will lose your privacy." 

The way Strickler spoke showed how mad he really was. It was a passive aggressive coldness that overshadowed any worry in the changeling's voice. His eyes however betrayed his true feelings. He was scared, or maybe even terrified. Jim could see it as clear as the morning rays of a summer sunset. To a human, worry was normal. It was seen as loving to worry for another. For a changeling however, worry was a weakness. Jim was Strickler's weak spot, just like his mother. He didn't understand why, but the teen relented, and he was grateful for that.

"Fine." Jim pouted. Secretly he already thought of all the places he could legally go to that would give Strickler the aneurism he has avoided so far. 

"I'm not doing this to spite you, young Atlas." 

"No, no. Really. It's fine." There was an eye roll, "I'll just have to earn my way out of this then." 

"Jim..."

"Nope. I get it. I deserve it. Just- argh! I'm not made of glass, alright?" He complained. Jim was annoyed that Strickler thought he needed to be watched like this. 

Strickler on the other hand was annoyed by the teenager's careless attitude. He sighed and shook his head with a disappointed groan. Jim heard that, and got defensive himself. It almost looked like the two were going to have another steak knife duel, but even though he was mad to be treated like a child, Jim didn't want to ruin what he had with his mentor.

Then something went bump in the night.

Both of them ran outside to see what had happened. The dusky twilight of the late hours made it harder to spot anything amiss, but the lack of anything obvious was a blessing in disguise. At least they didn't have to cover up something. It had happened so often, the changelings at the order have already developed a code language for such incidents. Especially since Bular loved to go out into town to listen to progressive rock at 2 in the morning. Strickler himself would say he preferred the current situation at hand. It was less of a headache, as well as a great outlet for stress. Jim would disagree with him. 

Jim summoned Moonlight while Strickler pulled out his feather blades when the trash can started to move. It did sport two legs, and was wearing very pretty ankle-high boots. Jim was sure that he had seen those before somewhere, and it was definitely not in the trash. Then it hit him. He felt stupid for not realizing this sooner. However, just because he spent hours every school day looking at their owner didn't mean he would immediately recognize these shoes. 

"Claire? What are you doing in the trash?" 

A startled squeak later, a pair of wide brown eyes appeared from underneath the aluminum trash can lid. She looked spooked, but not by Jim or by Strickler. It was something else that had her hiding in there, and that was worrying him quite a lot. However, Jim was happy to see that she relaxed once he lowered his bow.

"What's going on? Why are you in there?" 

"You're not going to kill me?" 

Jim was alarmed immediately. "No! Absolutely not. What gave you that idea?" 

"Urgh... You won't believe me." She groaned, "I don't believe myself!" 

Jim nodded, then crossed his arms, "I've got a magical bow. Try me?"

Strickler watched the exchange with amusement and an arched brow. This wasn't how he had imagined it to go, but at least the two were talking now. He smiled in satisfaction, but the sly smile was wiped from his face as soon as Claire explained her current predicament.  
  
"There is this super creepy monster after me. It calls itself Angor Rot, and it wants to kill me because I remind it of it's mistress, the so called 'pale lady'." She paused to rub her arms in self comfort. "I'm scared."

Jim went over to her and pulled her in for a comfort hug. This was not _his_ Claire, so he held back, but it was _a_ Claire, and she needed this. That much was obvious. 

"You're not alone. Not anymore. Here, come in. I was about to make us some tea and you're welcome to join us. If Angor comes for you, we'll protect you."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

There was gratitude in her eyes, alongside a huge wave of relief. She let him lead her to the living room couch, and Strickler kept an watchful eye on the girl when Jim left to make the tea. The changeling was interested in the girl's connection to his missing lady creator. However, more interesting was the way his student was acting. Not to long ago Jim was drooling over her in his class, but now he didn't even stutter while he talked to her. It felt like there was something missing. Strickler vowed to find out what that missing something was.


	21. Blink And You'll Miss Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we really at chapter 21 already? It feels like yesterday that I started this... and I'm happy to announce that this is sort of the middle of the story. We've reached half-time! And I couldn't have done it without all of you readers. Thank you, for your kudos, your comments and everything else. You keep me going.  
> Now, let's start the chapter. I promise it's going to begin with something awesome~!!

⩟-⨈-⩟

While Jim and Strickler tried to calm down Claire, Barbara Lake was on her way to the hospital. Thankfully, she didn't see any of what was happening in her house or else she would have turned around right away. Some poor unfortunate soul had a meeting with a bear, and by the looks of it it must have been huge. From what her colleagues told her on the phone the bite wound was enormous. The actual bite mark looked a bit odd, crooked even, but what else was there besides a bear to leave such large wounds? Thankfully the patient had been bitten in the arm only, and had otherwise only minor injuries. However, it still had her hurry to help.

In hindsight, she shouldn't have driven her car so fast through the dark. The huge blue stone monster that she had just rolled over would still be standing, if she had just followed the speed limit. Then again, it wore armor and was still groaning, or growling, so it was probably fine to leave it there like roadkill on a freeway. Sadly, the good doctor's heart bled for every creature that needed help, even the scary ones with huge tusks, horns and a sword almost as big as she was tall.

The growling was indeed painful groaning, because Barbara soon diagnosed her almost roadkill with a bad case of unconsciousness, and a probably just mild concussion. Her car was dented enough to justify her carefulness as she gently made her way over to the creature. 

"Hello? Can you, can you hear me? Speak with me? _Wait._ Can you even speak..?" 

There was no reply. Not that she had expected one. 

"In case you can understand me, even if I doubt it, I'll be touching you now. You are hurt and I am a doctor... uh a human doctor. I don't know what you are, but I'll do my best to help you. Please, stay calm." 

She almost added "please stay unconscious" too, but she didn't want to be rude. This was a patient in a probably very serious dangerous situation, and she was a trauma surgeon. She had to stay professional, even if Satan's cousin was sprawled out on the concrete before her. However, she did have her pepper spray bottle ready as she crept around her surprise patient.

As it turned out, her victim was made of stone and didn't bleed at all. Which in itself was a huge relief, in her opinion. This way, she didn't need to worry about a transfusion, nor a mess to clean up. Aside from the obvious bump on the head, her monster was in one piece. Alive and still grunting. She assumed it was a he by the deepness of his grunts, as well as his general body shape. However, Barbara couldn't be sure since her medical textbooks did not cover monster or creature anatomy. 

When she was sure that Mr monster would not jump up to eat her, she got to her car. It was miraculously still working, even with the nasty dent in the hood, and grabbed a tow rope from the trunk. She couldn't just leave him there where everyone could see him. Poor guy could end up on some scientist's operating table, and Barbara knew how sharp a scalpel was. Or in this case, a laser cutter. To save him from that fate she quickly tied the rope around his feet and used her car to drag him across the street and onto the bridge. Once she was at the edge of it, she pushed him down into the sewers. The wild shrubs below nicely cushioned his fall, and the stink kept people away. She prayed he wasn't afraid of the dark.

With that out of the way, Barbara got back into her car to drive to work. She cursed a bit when she saw how late she was.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Lake residence. 

Claire was now comfortably curled up in a nest of blankets on the couch, right next to Strickler, who kept looking at Jim with semi glowing eyes. Every motion, every expression was analyzed by the changeling. It drove Jim nuts.

"Do I have something on my face?" He finally hissed, after half an hour of the intense observing.

Jim felt like a goldfish cracker in a bottle. It unnerved him how his trusted mentor was suddenly acting so strange. It was like he expected Jim to suddenly transform and attack, which was hilariously ironic. Then a thought went through his head.

_Does he know I'm not from here?_

It made Jim freeze up and shiver. He averted his eyes, keeping himself busy with his still broken phone. The water damage was not that bad, but the display looked dead. Strickler didn't stop watching him. On the contrary, after he had this little nervous slip up, his mentor narrowed his eyes and stared even more intensely at him. Jim wanted to run, hide, escape this situation. Yet, he couldn't do any of those. The reason for why he stayed was currently sleeping on the couch.

Then something went bump in the night, again. For the second time that night Jim found himself rushing outside to check out what was going on. He prayed that it was a bunch of raccoons this time. Strickler stayed with Claire to guard her in case this was an attack from Angor Rot. 

A faint oof caught Jim's attention. Not because it was an oof sound made by a sentient being, but because him knew that voice. This was one of the few voices that he would forever remember because it was burned into his heart with fondness. A tiny part of him was terrified to meet the counterpart of his surrogate father. Ever since Aarghaumont, Jim felt like he had burned his hand. He had been playing with the flames of fate, and was now paying for it. 

By now he was used to this universe's strangeness when it came to people he loved and hated. That meant he was only mildly shocked to find Blinky in his backyard, stuck in the little window that led to the basement. He had apparently attempted to enter the house through there, but with too many limbs and eyes that went south very quickly. In other words, Blinkous was stuck. 

"Are you okay?" Jim asked without much thinking about it. 

"No..." Came the miserable reply. 

In fact, he sounded so miserable that Jim felt pity for the blue conundrum. He was already wearing Moonlight, and he had his newfound Gumm Gumm upgrade, so pulling Blinky's sorry behind out of there was almost too easy. They both plopped backwards onto the grass afterwards. Blinky even rolled around a bit, happy to taste sweet freedom once more.

"Ah thank, that, uh you, I mean, thank you. Yes, uhm..." 

This Blinky was again completely different from what he had expected to see. All six of his eyes avoided Jim, as if any eye contact would burn the troll like acid. He held himself timidly, curled up into a defensive mess of limbs. Jim had to realize that this version of his surrogate father and Trollish mentor was not just shy, but an anxious mess. 

"So... Are you going to, you know, do the, ehem, thing? Because I, no can I even make a request?" He stuttered again, and by Deya's grace Blinky was shivering.

"Why are you here?" Jim asked as gently as he could.

"Please don't hurt me!" 

With raised empty hands Jim tried to calm the terrified troll down, "it's okay. I'm not going to hurt or kill you. I promise. You don't hurt me, I won't hurt you. Deal?"

"You... _won't?_ But, but I don't understand!? You are the _dark archer,_ Gunmar's child and champion of the Janus Order. I'm just cannon fodder. I'm not worth anything, so why are you sparing me?" 

Jim was appalled by what he was implying. The festering feeling of dread that was bubbling up his throat like hot bile made him want to puke. Surely, Blinky had not been very confident when they first met, but he grew during their time together. Being Trollmarket's leader was no little burden, and an even greater responsibility. This Blinky was nothing like that, literally. His self-confidence and feeling of worth were non-existent. It rubbed Jim in a very wrong way to see him like this.

"No. No life is worth more than another. I'm sparing your life because there is no need for violence right now. I prefer to solve things diplomatically, Bular's the brute here. If you really want to die, go see him. Your name is Blinkous, right?"

Jim intentionally chose to use Blinky's formal name instead of the short version. It could be insulting for him to use a nickname, and he wanted to protect what little bit of pride and dignity the scholar had left. It turned out to be a good idea because all six eyes lit up like fireworks. Jim swore he saw stars sparkle in these wide open eyes.

"You know **_my_** name...?" 

"Of course I do. I also know that you are an excellent historian, tactician and librarian." Every word Jim spoke, Blinky's eyes shone brighter, "what I don't know, Mr Blinkous Galadrigal, is why you are here. Can I help you with something, or...?" 

By now, he was awestruck and looked a little like he was struck by lightning. Jim was a bit afraid that he had broken the poor troll. That was until he lost consciousness fell backwards with a loud boof. 

"Damn it. Why is everyone passing out so much? At least it's not me this time." Jim mused, then looked to his house, especially his basement.

"Let's hide you, and then I'll find out what happened to make you like this. Whoever's crushed your spirit Blinky, I swear they will pay for it." 

* * *

While Jim dragged Blinky into his basement, Vendel was pacing before the heartstone crystal with a frown on his face. Kanjigar was overdue for his report, Aarghaumont failed to kill Gunmar's adopted pet human, and now his childhood friend sent him grave news. Queen Usurna sent him a letter with evidence of changeling activity inside Trollmarket. Someone had taken pictures of what looked to be Bular in an alleyway near the tavern on the lower ring. It made Vendel's horns ache with fury and fear. 

Everything had been wonderful until that human child appeared and somehow activated the Moonlight amulet. How? Vendel didn't know, but he was sure that there would be a large battle soon. Things were in motion, and the stones dropped steadily like a chain of dominoes. The wheels of fate were turning, and a new era would start. Vendel just had to make sure that they would be the victors in this war. 

He had to get rid of the human first. Bular would follow suit, and with the sons out of the way the father would never be free. Gunmar could rot to dust in the darklands for all that Vendel cared. 

"You two!" He called out to his Krubera guardians, "bring me a scrying lens and the geode from my desk. I need to speak with our prisoner."

They hurried off to find the requested items as quickly as possible. Vendel's mood was already sour, they didn't want to worsen it. 

Vendel on the other hand was calmly approaching an especially large piece of crystal. It was glowing softly in a glorious golden hue, like the evening sunset on a summer day. With a tap of his staff the quartz cleared to reveal the frozen body of a woman inside it. She seemed to be sleeping, but the way the magic flared up around her spoke otherwise. 

The guards returned shortly after to deliver the magical lens and the geode: a half broken piece of hematite stone with engraved runes. It was special, but only a selected few knew why.

"You will power our home for a long time, pale lady. They don't even know you still exist, my dear. Now be a good witch and cooperate or I'll use the scrying lens to burn the magic out of you. What shall it be?"

Vendel laughed when she tried to fight him. This would be a wonderful day for the troll, and he could finally let some of his frustration out. Once he was done with her he just left, not caring about the sorceress in the stone. He even smiled at how pitiful her magic sizzled out, like children's sparkler toys. Fortunately the old goat like troll was too arrogant to notice how a wave of cool ultramarine washed over the hurt gold and helped it heal. The blue magic hugged the golden sparks like a returning family member. Even frozen as she was, the pale lady radiated gratitude before she went back to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are set in motion indeed. Now that the main cast is here, let's see how long everything stays stable before reality crushes itself.  
> Also: epic Barbara is epic.


	22. James Pond

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a little two month break from the TH fandom because I lost interest. All that's posted on Instagram was Jlaire kissing art and that got boring after two weeks. I do support the ship - and even ship it myself - but I love variety. Gimme all the AUs! lol Anyway, back to this story. I'm speeding things up a little bit and *finally* Jim's secret is going to be not so secret very soon. I hope that makes up for the long break. Enjoy!

⩟-⨈-⩟

Jim just got the unconscious Blinky stashed away in the basement when Strickler scared the living daylights out of him. The changeling was standing in the hallway, in troll form, and with his feather blades in his claws. His back was straight, but he crouched down in a firm battle stance. Every bit of the winged assassin was ready to fight, and there was a acid fire burning in his eyes that had even Jim shiver. Stricklander looked positively pissed.

"Young Atlas? Or, shall I use another name?" He mused lightly, but with a dangerous edge in his voice.

"What?" 

"Oh please, I've seen enough young changelings in my life to know when someone is an imposter. You, are not who you claim to be." He casually said, then hissed, "who are you, and where is James Lake Jr? Tell me now and I will not kill you. As on changeling to another, I even wish to congratulate you for the impressive acting."

Jim felt I've cold fear spike through him. It ripped through his spine and left his fingers tingling. With eyes as wide as dinner plates he stumbled backwards to get some ground, or find an escape route in case this turned ugly. His mentor thought he was a changeling. Him. A changeling. Jim was glad he got the role as Romeo in the school play, but he was not that great of an actor, and he was most definitely not a changeling imposter playing, well, himself.

"I am me. I'm James Lake Jr, I'm not an imposter!"

No matter how sincere Jim sounded, Strickler would have none of it, "then why are you acting more suspicious than a freshly bonded changeling?" 

"Damn it! I am me! What do I have to do to make you believe me?" Jim yelled out in frustration and fear. 

Strickler knew. Jim didn't want to admit it but his game was over. He had to be very careful now, or lose everything he held dear, including his life. The last part was heavily empathized by the blade that was suddenly pressed against his neck. Moonlight flared up protectively, wrapping itself around Jim and covering his very fragile skin in trollish Kevlar and plate. However, Stricklander was no beginner himself. He easily found a weak spot in the armor and he exploited it faster than Toby could eat a taco. Jim was always scared, but this time he was terrified. This was his mentor, whom he had grown to like, even love as a family member. He couldn't fight him, not again. Tiny droplets of sweat plopped onto the silvery blade with soft plinks every few seconds. They captured Strickler's attention, making him look like he was in some sort of trance. Then it was over. 

Before Jim could react Strickler drew back with a hiss and jumped into the shadows cast by the door that led to the garage. He dropped his blade as well, like it had burnt him. 

"I... I'm sorry. I thought you..." He mumbled something else but Jim couldn't understand that part. 

Instead of following him, Jim plopped down onto the hardwood floor and gasped for air. It was hard to calm his racing heart, but the question of why helped to ground him again. Why indeed. Jim didn't know why Strickler suddenly changed his mind. Everything was going downhill until he saw Jim's nervous sweat on his blade. Then it hit him: trolls don't sweat, and neither do changelings. Of course some simulated it by spraying themselves with water, but only humans could actually sweat. What was usually an inconvenience had just saved Jim's life, and also his secret.

He was lucky this time. Next time, he would most likely lose his head. Jim huffed out in exasperation. Maybe it was time to give Gunmar another magic mirror call and ask for advice. He knew about Jim's unusual predicament, and he was high enough on the food chain to protect him should things go south. Until then, Jim had to be very careful. 

All the stress caused him to fidget and twitch. He felt unsafe in his own home, and when he closed his eyes the ground below him seemed to disappear. He wished for safety, for power to protect himself and destroy anything that dared to hurt him or his loved ones. 

"Huh, Bular is rubbing off on me..." 

With a dark flare Moonlight turned black again. It corroded into the obsidian abyss he wore when he fought with the waterfall. Jim remembered how Strickler had reacted to it, almost as if the changeling was afraid of it. The last time he saw a similar deep dark plate he was half a troll, courtesy of Merlin. This armor felt familiar, yet so strange.

"Eclipse...?" But no. They wasn't right. This wasn't the red and black predator, this was something else. This was darker. It wasn't just a covered sun, hidden behind a moon. This was the absence of all light. This inky black with it's blue cracks was the deepest darkest abyss.

Suddenly two arms wrapped around Jim's neck and pulled him into a warm hug. It was soft and warm, and it smelled like cat hair.

"Dude, I saw. What's wrong with Mr Strickler?"

"Toby?" Jim croaked.

"You looked like you needed a hug?" The ginger shrugged, "I let myself in with the spare key you gave me. Dude, why is your door locked? It's never locked when you're home."

That was the moment Claire decided to show herself. She had been woken up by the ruckus he and Strickler had caused earlier. Thankfully she didn't look too shaken anymore, which made Jim ease up a tiny bit. Then she cooed at them with a soft "aww".

"What? Boys hug too..." Was the only and possibly lamest defense Jim could come up with. 

Toby however, was more heated and definitely bamboozled by the sudden appearance of her, "dude! Girl! In your house!? Say whaaa?"

Jim playfully pushed Toby's mouth shut from below before he wriggled himself out of his hug to stand up. He couldn't bring himself to feel his best friend's hype. Yes, there was a girl in his house, but she was not his girl. This Claire was not his Claire, and romancing her felt like cheating. Jim was loyal. Even if technically they were the same person and it burned his brain to even think about the emotional acrobatics that were involved in this situation.

"Toby, Claire. Claire, my best friend: Toby. She's been attacked by a troll assassin and came to hide here." He explained easily.

Toby positively beamed, "we're going to hunt that creep down? Please say yes!" 

And with a long suffering smirk Jim said, "yes." 

Toby cheered. He yelled out a massive war cry and threw his hands in the air, which made the two other teenagers laugh a little. 

"We need code names!" 

"Toby, no." 

"Toby, yes! Call me..." 

Jim cut in again, "Warhammer." 

"Oh my gosh yes! I'm Warhammer, grandson of Nana! And you are Mr Pond, James Pond, the super secret Janus agent." 

While Jim snorted out a groan, Claire laughed until she was twittering like a bird. Toby didn't even see what he did to cause this. In his mind, his idea was good. 

"What? It fits." He pouted, huffing out his cheeks like a pufferfish. 

"Tobes, no. Just- no. My title is tro- nightranger and I want to keep it." Jim almost said trollhunter, but thankfully caught himself in time to avoid spilling his secret for the second time that night.

A rumbling sound from below made the group stop laughing. Jim's guest in the basement was awake, and from the sound of it had just found his way through one of the heavy duty shelves and emergency soup cans. Perhaps he even ate one, or part of the shelf, Jim couldn't tell. Dealing with normal trolls was a hassle, dealing with mentally scarred ones was even worse.

"I'll be with you in a few. Toby, you're on guardian duty. Claire, try not to hurt his ego." The teen ordered. 

His reply were two nods, and one very accurate salute. Nana Domzalski claimed to have fought in some wars. She was probably the one who taught Toby how to do this, but Jim had more important things to worry about now. Blinky was awake, and he must have been scared. Waking up in a strange place, all alone and with people making muffled noises above would be terrifying to almost anyone. Which is why he made his way down even more carefully and gently. He also consciously decided to not bring Toby or Claire down there with him for now. Toby was too much energy, and Claire was scared herself. It would only add unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation.

"Blinky? Blinkous, are you doing okay?" He called into the darkness of his basement. 

Suddenly six eyes opened one after another, and all of them were looking at different things, until they blinked and stared into Jim's soul. Their owner decided to stay hidden in the shadows cast by the furnace, so the human teen sat down on the ground with his legs crossed and his hands flat on the floor. He hoped to be less intimidating to the troll in his basement like this. Fortunately for him Blinky was a kind soul, regardless of which universe they were in. 

"I... I suppose I'm, well, doing okay, as you have put it." 

"Good. I'm glad you are getting better." Jim replied, completely ignoring Blinky's hesitation, "you worried me when you passed out so suddenly."

"I-, I don't- I.. I... I..!"

"I brought you into my home to recover. Since it's the basement you won't need to worry about the sun down here, but please don't let my mom see you." Said Jim as he leaned backwards, "So... there are books in the paper boxes to your left. You can read for as long as you like. The avoid mom rule is more for your own safety actually."

"Why?!" 

"Oh, my mother is twice as scary as I am. I have to have inherited it from somewhere." Jim only half joked. 

Blinkous on the other hand looked shocked. He was mentally memorizing every hiding spot and possible escape route he could find. That was when Jim decided to drop the bomb and ask him about it. Of course he tried to be as gentle as he could, but even a feather coated in cotton candy could have hurt Blinky in that moment.

"Who did this to you?" Jim asked, but then clarified in a way, and with words, that the troll would understand, "who do you fear so much? We both know that you have no confidence left anymore, but you are no coward either, so I'm asking you: who reduced you to... this?"

At first there was no answer, and it didn't seem like Jim could hope to get a reply, but then ever so slightly there was a murmur. Blinky seemed to have cracked under the pressure of being sent out on a suicide mission, and then being saved by his supposed enemy. Eventually his whispering turned into a steady mumble. Then, finally Jim got his answer. He didn't need to like it.

"My brother. He knows. He knows that- that I'm worthless, the others are just too kind to speak it out loud. When- when I am around, that is." 

Jim did not like Dictatious much in his universe, but with that tiny bit of information he felt an inner fire being lit. It was bad enough to see his beloved mentor, his father figure too boost, in such a sorry state. However, it was even worse to know that his own brother did this to him. Blood spilled on the battlefield is indeed much thicker than the water one was born from. Blood is what Jim wanted to spill now. Every bit of Gumm Gumm magic in his veins screamed at him to kick the foolish brother into kingdom come. 


	23. On The Ley Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The seams are beginning to unravel. Thankfully, not all mirror shards slice and dice you when you touch them. The dangerous part is to find out which ones do.

⩟-⨈-⩟

After his talk with Blinky Jim needed a moment to cool down again and reign in his inner fire, least he started to accidentally break things with his still new passive - and mostly aggressive - magic. He went outside to let the cool night air prickle his skin back to sanity. However, the calm did not last much longer, as Strickler joined him with a head hanging low. In his troll form he wrapped his aunt's around himself. Now, coupled with the sad eyes and slow steps, Jim realized what was going on. Stricklander, the head of the Janus order, was feeling guilty.

"What I did is unforgivable. All I ask for is a second chance, young Atlas."

Without turning his head or even flinching once Jim answered, "I'm not mad. You were right in a way, and besides... if I had been a evil spy you would have saved our friends. I can't fault you for that."

"What are you talking about?" Of course the trained leader would notice the intentional slip up.

Visibly upset, Jim turned around to face Strickler directly, "I want to come clean, but I'm warning you: my story is crazy." 

The changeling took it with as much grace as he could muster up after such an eventful day. He looked confused most of all, but there was something else in these slit eyes that Jim couldn't identify. Worry, perhaps? It was harder to tell than to guess, but guessing made the young champion's mind wander into dangerous territory. Alas, he was in a dangerous situation already, and he still had all this adrenaline and fury in him. Jim didn't care any more. Any reasonable person would have quit right then and there, but Jim was tired of keeping his secret. If he could at least get one person to talk to, who believed him and wouldn't throw him out, then that would make his situation more bearable. 

When there was nothing more coming from his mirror-universe mentor, Jim let it all out. 

"I am Jim Lake Jr. ...but I'm not your Jim Lake Jr. I... I'm- Merlin threw me through time and space because we've had some disagreements. I switched places with the Jim from this universe without anyone else noticing when the new school year started. That day, in my timeline I was chosen as trollhunter, but the roles were reversed. Kanjigar was nice, he fought for humanity! And- well, my Gunmar wanted to destroy the human world and bring eternal night. Your counterpart tried to kill me, then used my mom as living shield. And... And now I'm here, living the life of my own counterpart. I... What I mean is, no what I want to say is... I'm not him, I'm so sorry." Jim finished breathlessly and near tears again. 

The air around them both seemed as thick as maple syrup. The silverware in the kitchen was almost anxiously resting there, waiting with all the hope of a bunch of inanimate objects that there would be a knife duel. Unfortunately for the poor cutlery set neither Jim nor Strickler made a move towards the kitchen drawers. Actually, both of them were as rigid as blocks of concrete.

He didn't dare to look up at Strickler in fear of what he might find. All he could do was repeat his apologies over and over like a mantra. Moonlight filled him with a wave of comfort and warmth, probably a gift sent from Deya. It helped a whole lot more than the stone cold support he had gotten from the other trollhunters back in his own universe. If not for his world's Kanjigar he would not be there. After all, his predecessors had wanted to throw him out when he first visited them in the soothscryer. They never really liked him, and only accepted him after he had proven himself. Deya was like a sister, and she had welcomed him with open arms from the moment they met. 

If this whole confession went badly he still had her. Deya quickly became the big sister that Jim never had, but desperately needed. She was his anchor for everything that his mom could not help him with. She also protected him with all her soul, promising they would always stick together. That thought comforted Jim more than he thought was possible. Or needed, however, because Strickler transformed back into his human self and let out a laugh.

"I don't know where to begin. You sounded so much like a young changeling when you said that, Jim, I can not find it in my heart to be angry with you for keeping this from me. I have seen enough of my kind go through this to understand why. Even if I don't like it."

Jim looked up fast enough to make his neck protest with a pop. Oh so very hesitantly he asked, "you believe me?"

"Your story, while being absolutely insane, could very much be true. It explains so much..." 

Now that had Jim floored. He had expected a fight. In his head, Strickler was supposed to get mad and demand his own Jim back, and for him to return to his home dimension. With the shock still riding on the wave of adrenaline in his veins, this felt like an anticlimactic letdown. 

Hesitantly, he asked, "so... you don't want to kill me?" 

"No."

But before Jim could sigh in relief and do a little party cheer, Strickler continued, "however, I expect you to tell me everything you know about your world. How you got here, and what you can do. I trust you, young Atlas. Whether you are from here or from elsewhere, you are my student. However, we should keep this a secret just a little longer, for your own sake." 

Jim was absolutely sure his own Strickler would have ripped him to shreds, or at least thrown him out. Naturally, the first thing he told his mentor was about the skirmishes and fights Jim had with his very own Strickler. The stake knife duel of the forks made him go a few shades paler, but he stood strong. With determination as unwavering as steel, Strickler sat through the entire story of Jim's trollhunter career.

* * *

Meanwhile in a book shop far away from the Lake household was a young man playing a tune on his electric guitar that was almost a whole millennium old. It's sorrowful notes echoed in the room and caused the fire in the fireplace to flicker blue. This was magic. Powerful magic, and it was an act done by a grieving heart. After the last note faded to nothing silence regained control of the room, and with it the magic dispelled as well.

It had been a healing spell. Hisirdoux Le Fay, or just Douxie nowadays, always sent out some of his magic in the hope that his adoptive mother was still out there somewhere listening for him. She must be, he told himself. She had fought Merlin and even pushed the evil wizard into a stalemate, so she must be alive. This special sorceress was his savior, and later became the mother he never had. It had been her voice singing him to sleep as a boy, and it had been her hand that taught him how to weave magic into his music. 

Douxie let his back sink into the armchair he sat in. Archie was curled up in his lap and enjoyed the absentminded scratches from his bonded wizard. The word alone made him angry. Douxie hated what he was. A wizard, like Merlin. He much rather wanted to be a sorcerer like Morgana, but for that he needed to open his soul and let his magic run free. It wasn't something easily done, but one day, he swore, he would make the jump.

Much more interesting was the plectrum in his hands. It used to have a twin. Both were once the wedding rings of Arthur and Gwen, but he melted them down to reshape them both into something he could carry with him more easily. Filled with love as they were they could block Merlin's evil magic and protect the person wearing them. Douxie kept one, but tied the other to his greatest accomplishment: the moonlight amulet. It was his and Angor Rot's Magnum Opus work, and he wanted to make sure that the nightrangers would be protected at all costs. Deya's sacrifice would not be for nothing. 

"I wish you could see this, mom. Wherever you are, I love you."

A warm rush of magic made him look into the fire. The golden flames reminded him of home. The fire's warmth reminded him of a gentle hug, and the shadows that the shining blaze cast reminded him of the feeling of safety. Douxie remembered her. He missed her even more. Which was why he still fought each day and night. Even if his adopted mother was still imprisoned somewhere, he was carrying on. Douxie would do anything to get her back, it's what drove him forward. It was a lonely road to travel on. Lonely, and oh so cold. It was hard to hold onto hope, but he was not going to give up. Should the unthinkable happen he would carry on his mother's legacy.

Now it seemed that there finally was a nightranger on active duty, and Merlin knew about it. Of course Merlin knew about it. He claimed to be omnipotent and perfect in every way possible. If Merlin was wrong, then that was just a sign that dark magic was at work. He was a control freak, but shadow magic he could not control, and that drove him crazy. The constant flashing was a clear sign of the old fossil's attempts to enter the nightranger's mind space to manipulate him. 

"Not on my watch, old man." He mumbled, waking up his familiar: Archie. 

"Is he trying to get in again?" The cat dragon asked casually. The familiar's tone suggested this happened every Thursday or so. 

"Yeah. He's getting desperate too. If I didn't know better I'd have said Deya showed him her middle finger to rile him up. What do you say, Arch, wanna go out and collect some headaches to mail to old Merle?"

The familiar jumped up to fly in the air a few seconds long. Then, in a burst of blue fire he landed, crouched low and let out a fierce hiss, "ready when you are."

"Then let's go. There are some Glibbercroaker nearby. Big bad angry ones.", The human said with a teasing tone. He knew what was coming next.

"I'm right behind you, Douxie. Someone has to keep an eye on your back after all." 

And the metal magician just laughed out loud as he readied his guitar for yet another nighttime hunt. This wasn't anything new for him. Douxie has been protecting the world from both evil creatures as well as insane trollhunters for nearly 900 years. He knew his spells, and since he was an aspiring sorcerer he built himself and very special guitar. With both his mind and weapon ready he went on his nocturnal adventure.

Glibbercroaker frogs, as the name implied, were a blob of slimy living jello. They had the size of a common raccoon, looked like a mix between a bullfrog and a pug, and they stuck to a person much like modern day industrial glue. Their souls were not much different, and Douxie knew enough shadow magic to necromance them straight into Merlin's own mind. That would be giving him a much deserved headache while the gutter of Arcadia would be rid of one more mess. Douxie was excited to get some payback for the imprisonment of his mom. Archie would stay behind him however, where no sticky Glibbercroaker could slime could reach him.

With a pep in his step the magic user was out of his shop and running into a tunnel that led towards the sewers. 

* * *

A tiny grain of dust was usually nothing of interest to a human, much less a troll. On the other hand, a troll was very interesting to a grain of dust. One such creature of trollish nature was currently stumbling through the great collective hive mind of dust that had conquered the lower sewers beneath Arcadia. The giant armored knight swayed from one side to another like a drunken wave was carrying him across the sea of delirium. Every now and then the horned offender huffed out a gasp that sent the very annoyed grains of dust flying around. 

Kanjigar rubbed his head for the sixth time that night. He had a nasty bump on it, but could not for his life remember where he got it. There was a dark abyss in his memories that seemed to swallow the fog in that had been clouding his thoughts for decades now. He faintly remembered that he was in the canals below Arcadia, but he was not able to recall why. Or how he got there for that matter. He just woke up from a very deep nap. 

Sluggish he trotted through the murky water and wet moss that coated the cement tunnel, just barely large enough to let him walk upright. He had to make pauses, a lot and quit often, but he made his way home. Slowly but surely he would get back to his dwelling and check on his son. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Draal. As a single father he was worried. As a single father of a very clingy son he was terrified. Strangely enough he could not for his life remember why and when he and Ballustra had parted ways.

Then there was this awful noise in the back of his head. It sounded like a pixie on helium, and it gave him a headache. Honestly, the last time Kanjigar had this bad of a headache, it was years ago. In the summer of 1993 he got hit by a human's car. He could clearly remember that day. In fact, the memory was much clearer than most others. However, it was so unlikely to be the case that he dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his head. No human would just dump him in the gutter after running him over. No, humans nowadays would bring him into a laboratory, to then cut him up on a table. He shuddered at the mere thought of it. 

Daylight flashed weakly on his chest plate before it's shining cyan fire faded to a dull aquamarine glow. With it the horrible noise also stopped. 

"Finally... Peace and quiet." He sighed. 

Unfortunately Kanjigar's break was over all to soon when a Glibbercroaker jumped out of a pipe to his right and gawked at him. One gelatinous eye looked straight into his soul while another rolled off to lazily gaze at the floor. It let out a haughty croak before it went to attack the trollhunter's horn with it's acid tongue. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was a tiny small bit disappointed when we didn't get to see more creatures in ALL of the series, so I'm making some up. The 'Croaker is my personal favorite because it's derpy-doom-ish and just adorable in the dangerous way lol


End file.
